


Welcome to the Fold

by fembuck



Series: A Brave New World [2]
Category: Blade the Series
Genre: Alternate Ending, Bloodplay, F/F, Femslash, Rough Sex, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-15
Updated: 2013-02-01
Packaged: 2017-11-27 20:33:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/666212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fembuck/pseuds/fembuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Krista arrives at Chase’s new operation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a continuation of my story “A Brave New World".

_Later that night …_

Krista opened her eyes as the door to the dorm room she had been assigned opened up revealing a sliver of light from the hallway and a shadowed figure hovering in the doorway before they moved all the way into the room the darkness inside enveloping them before the door closed behind them.

Chase was running her current operation out of a building that had been used by the University of Toronto years before as a dormitory but had been abandoned in favor of a newer building closer to the St. George campus. It wasn’t as flashy as Marcus’ operation had been but it was an extremely efficient way to deal with housing concerns for the scattered members of Chthon Chase had managed to gather together, while also ensuring that she had space to store goods, run training sessions and whatever else it was that she needed.

Krista was actually quite impressed, from a technical stand-point, with what Chase had managed to accomplish in a relatively short amount of time, though she had no plans to compliment the blonde out loud.

“How are you settling in?” Chase asked crossing over the desk at the other end of Krista’s room and taking a seat. She had been drawn away immediately upon her return to the coven, forced to deal with a problem she had abandoned earlier when news had reached her from her butcher friend that a woman meeting Krista’s description had just left his shop.

After her little fall that man and his store had gotten her on her feet again. Following the scent of blood to his door step had been a saving grace; he was a big man and had been able to feed her well. Luckily for him, and her, it turned out that she was still too weak to bleed him dry. As she had prepared to snap his neck he had pleaded with her, told her that he could be useful, that others like her had come to his store before looking for blood and he could send them to her or whatever else she wanted. She had been enraged and in a generally foul mood that night, but she wasn’t so far gone that she didn’t recognize an opportunity to network when it was presented to her. Keeping him alive turned out to be a good decision, his business proved to be a big draw for House-less accidental turns who had no idea that animal blood would do them no good in the long run, and she had recruited quite a few foot soldiers through his calls. Not to mention finally finding Krista.

“Okay,” Krista responded not surprised in the least to see Chase. She almost didn’t know how she had survived six months without the blonde barging in on her whenever she felt like it. “I managed to unpack,” Krista continued smirking a little in the dark knowing that Chase could see it.

“I hope you didn’t exhaust yourself,” Chase replied playing along with Krista’s little joke. The brunette didn’t have much with her when she had found her earlier that evening, which meant after the five seconds it took her to unpack she must have been brooding in the darkness. It was such wonderfully Krista like behavior that Chase almost smiled.

“I think I’ve got my second wind,” Krista replied shifting on the bed, pushing herself up until she was sitting with her back against the wall gazing at Chase. For some reason the idea of lounging in bed while Chase was in her small room made her uncomfortable.

“I know the accommodations aren’t quite what you’re used to, but …” Chase began.

“They’re fine. A lot better than most of the places I’ve been sleeping lately,” Krista interrupted looking away from Chase momentarily. “I actually kind of like it,” Krista continued drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them as she spoke. “It reminds me of school.”

“Where _did_ you go to school?” Chase asked crossing her legs and settling back in the chair making herself more comfortable. Krista was in a far more sociable mood than she had seen the brunette, ever, and she would take advantage of the situation. As much as she enjoyed fighting with the ex-soldier, too much of any one thing became tedious and there was nothing she hated more than tediousness.

“University of South Carolina,” Krista replied brushing some hair back off of her face trying not think about how strange it was to be discussing something as mundane as her schooling with Chase. She almost felt like exclaiming ‘bomb’, ‘gun’, ‘aurora’ or ‘decapitation’ to return some normalcy to their interaction.

“Bit far away from home,” Chase commented though it did explain the accent she often caught peeking through the brunette’s speech.

“Yeah,” Krista nodded the southern drawl Chase had noticed showing itself in that word. “We used to live there. It’s where Zack and I were born,” she continued hesitating for a moment at the mention of her brother, her eyes holding on Chase for a moment as she thought about the blonde’s role in her brother death.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Chase had been there when her brother died, was probably the one who had investigated him and reported his betrayal to Marcus. Chase had once been number two on her ‘to kill’ list, and now … now Chase was the closest thing she had to a … an acquaintance.

“We moved when we were four,” Krista continued a long moment later sighing. “I always kind of wanted to go back and see where I was born, you know,” she went on shrugging and averting her gaze.

“How did you end up in the army?” Chase asked relaxing slightly. She had seen the look Krista gave her at the mention of her brother and had tensed preparing to exchange words if not more with brunette, but mercifully Krista had recovered and moved on.

She was learning, Chase could see, she was beginning to realize that her focus needed to be on the life she was living presently and not on how things had been as a human.

“Joined up to pay off my school loans,” Krista replied smiling a little. “My mom was … she was not pleased. She didn’t want me to go away in the first place, and then to join up to pay it off … lectured, I was lectured until she lost her voice,” Krista continued her tone nostalgic and pained. She would have done anything to see her mother again, even if it was just to argue with her about something.

“I loved the service though,” Krista continued a moment later. “I was only home on temporary medical leave. I never thought it’d end up being my last tour,” she finished her eyes drifting up to the ceiling as the room descended into silence. She still had trouble reconciling the fact that she had survived in Iraq only to be murdered by a real estate developer 20 minutes away from her mother’s house.

“I never went to school,” Chase said a few moments later into the silence blanketing the room her eyes tracking around the room as she tried to imagine what it would have been like to live there, music blasting down the hallway, a book bag flung by the door, worrying about getting reports done on time. She could picture the scene, but she couldn’t imagine herself in it. It was too far removed from anything she had known as human and far too conventional for her life as a vampire.

“Post-secondary or at all?” Krista asked focusing on Chase, wondering just how old the blonde was. She didn’t really know much about Chase beyond the fact that she had once been married and was Australian, which was kind of surprising considering the amount of time they had spent together in the past. Then again, she hadn’t been very responsive to Chase’s attempts at starting conversation back then, she hadn’t cared; she hadn’t wanted to know. She had planned on getting away from Chase, and Marcus, and Chthon and Blade as soon as possible back then and never looking back.

As it turned out things hadn’t quite been that simple.

“Post-secondary,” Chase replied smirking as she looked over at Krista. “I’m not that old.”

“How old _are_ you?” Krista asked straightening up a little, crossing her legs so that she was sitting Indian style before resting her elbows on her thighs and placing her head in her hands looking very much like an attention grade one student.

“I was born in 1881,” Chase replied her eyes drifting away from Krista’s as she spoke, “on a farm in small back-water town called Griffith on the Murrumbidgee River,” she continued a slight edge to her voice as her mind wandered back in time.

“One-hundred and twenty six years old,” Krista breathed out slightly awed, still unable to properly appreciate the longevity of the hominus nocturna.

“Most of the human ones aren’t worth mentioning,” Chase murmured darkly her eyes narrowing. “I ran away too, as far as could get as soon as I could,” she went on her eyes returning to Krista’s for a moment. “I didn’t have a meal card or a cartoonishly small room at a fine establishment like this to run to though,” she went on standing up before Krista could ask anymore questions about her past. “There’s a meeting in the lounge on the first floor at 6 p.m.,” Chase continued moving towards the door. “Will you need a wake-up call?” It was almost dawn.

“No, I’ll be fine,” Krista replied shifting to lean against the wall once more as Chase reached the door of her room. Surprisingly she found that she would have liked to talk to Chase for longer. It wasn’t until she was faced with the prospect of being alone again that she realized how long it had been since she had had a real conversation with someone, and lately since she had been around anyone for more than a couple of minutes. It was nice to talk, even if it was to Chase, but she could see the blonde begin to shut down as she talked about her past and knew that it was best to just let it drop for the moment.

“I’ll see you then,” Chase said watching Krista for a second longer and then she was out the door and Krista lay back on her bed, thinking that she might actually be able to get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**First Floor Lounge**

Krista watched as the figures assembled around the room began to file out, her eyes drifting from their disappearing backs over to Chase who was standing in front of a large desk with her hands braced on it behind her leisurely watching them leave.

“I know you have something better to do,” Chase said turning her gaze to Krista as the last of the assembled vampires exited the room. “I just gave the assignment to you.”

“Why?” Krista asked not moving from where she was seated.

“Because that’s why I brought you here. To work,” Chase replied knowing that she hadn’t answered Krista’s real question, but wanting to annoy the brunette a little bit. She had greatly missed annoying Krista over the past six months. She hadn’t realized what a great source of entertainment interacting with Krista had been until the brunette had thrown her down fifteen flights of stairs and run away.

“I meant why are you targeting this gang?” Krista asked scowling a little but otherwise not raising to the bait. “I know it’s not because you feel you have a civic responsibility to keep the streets drug free.”

Chase hopped on to the desk while considering Krista’s words. This was another reason she was glad to have the brunette around. Krista questioned things, she was inquisitive, she used the brain encased in that beautiful head of hers, and while it could sometimes be irritating she was sure that Krista’s inquisitiveness could be useful to her as well. Infantry was all well and good, but she needed generals too.

“Drug-free, no,” Chase said slowly, speaking very deliberately. “Ash-free, yes,” she continued stroking her bottom lip with her thumb, the motion thoughtful and sensuous at the same time. “Like most Ash operations this one is being run by meat,” she went on her lips forming a thin line. “They’re hiring rogue vampires to do their dirty work, and these clan-less thugs are targeting Chthon because we lack the infrastructure to hunt them down and make them burn,” she related crossing her legs, exposing an tantalizing expanse of pale, smooth thigh to Krista’s eyes. “Remnants of Marcus’ coven and others from the States are arriving here and they’re easy targets alone. Sabine was almost picked off last night.”

“Sabine’s here?” Krista asked remembering Marcus’ attractive Arab secretary. She had liked Sabine as much as she had liked anybody in Marcus’ coven.

“Not yet, she should arrive sometime tonight. After escaping she had to lay low during the daylight,” Chase replied watching Krista closely.

“So you’re just protecting your new operation with this,” Krista asked sensing, or perhaps just expecting, that Chase was holding something back though what she had said so far was reasonable.

Chase nodded. She of course wasn’t just protecting her people, although that was certainly an element of what she was up to. But, she would not tell Krista the rest yet, though she suspected the brunette would find out eventually. She needed to make Krista comfortable, to give her time to realize that she was better off with Chthon than alone. Telling Krista that she was removing the Ashers not just because they were a threat, but because they were taking business away from the conventional drug-trade operation she was running on the side that provided badly needed revenue and a loyal network of familiars, was not something that would make the brunette comfortable.

“I won’t kill them and I won’t let my team,” Krista stated firmly when Chase did nothing more than nod in response to her previous statement.

“Like I said, no one is asking you to kill your precious widdle humans,” Chase responded rolling her eyes before slipping off of the desk and moving towards Krista. “Ash the vampires, leave the humans alive is you must, but leave them living in terror. Burn the warehouse, raze it to the ground, break bones and make sure you get their entire network of lap-vampires,” Chase said drawing running a finger down Krista’s cheek, her blunted nail scrapping against the brunette’s flesh deliciously.

Krista submitted to the touch, fighting and only partially succeeding at stopping herself from leaning into the blonde’s touch.

When Chase pulled her finger back, Krista stood up and placed some space between them.

She couldn’t think clearly with Chase that close to her.

The Ashers were a menace to the humans they sold the ash to. They destroyed lives. She would be doing the community a service by getting rid of them, even if that wasn’t Chase’s motive.

Krista began to head to the door.

“Oh, and Krista,” Chase called as the brunette made her way towards the door. “Take pictures. I want to make some greeting cards for the other Houses.”

Krista nodded and exited the room.

She wasn’t going to take any fucking pictures.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

**Two Days Later**

Krista entered the kitchen of the cafeteria following the sounds of banging pots and bubbling liquid. Sabine had found her a few minutes earlier and informed her that Chase wanted to see her. Krista rolled her eyes at being summoned but hadn’t really been doing anything and figured that she might as well go to see the blonde … slowly.

The kitchen of the former dorm was half out of operation. Even though vampires could consume human food most of them chose to simply dine on blood and if they had a hankering for something solid would just go out. There were a few however who still appreciated a home-cooked meal but they were able to more than make do with what remained operative of the kitchen. Where no expensive had been spared was in the large walk in refrigerator units that contained the coven supply of blood.

“Are you cooking?” Krista asked surprised, and slightly disturbed, to see Chase standing in front of one of the oven in an apron. She thought that Chase was just down there getting a midnight snack, not baking one up.

“I had to do something since I won’t be making any greeting cards,” Chase responded without turning around to face the brunette, her tone somewhat irritated.

Krista smirked. It seemed Chase was still a little bitter that she didn’t take those pictures.

“I didn’t know you cooked,” Krista commented changing the subject. She was beginning to learn that changing the subject was a very effective way to converse with Chase. If either of them said something that pissed the other off – which was usually the case – changing the subject (or in Chase’s case, flirting with the subject) usually worked wonders.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Chase replied turning to look over her shoulder at Krista this time, holding her gaze for a moment before she turned back to the stove. “This is one of the things women were taught to do one-hundred and twenty-six years ago,” she continued bending down to open the oven door, placing the tray she had been working on when Krista arrived inside.

“What are you making?” Krista asked the tantalizing smells wafting towards her from where Chase was standing getting the best of her. A couple of months ago the smell of food made her nauseous since she was still relying on the serum, but she was down to her last few doses and had chosen not to use them since arriving at Chase’s coven, wanting to preserve them in case of a future emergency. She had been on her own for two days and was now apparently no longer nauseated by solids because of it. She choose not to think too much about what other tastes of hers might be changing as well.  
“Whiskey bread and butter pudding,” Chase replied glancing at the bowl off to her side. “And, Jolly Jumbuck in a Tuckerbag,” she continued smiling as she turned around to face Krista.  
Krista stared at her silently for a moment.

“You’re fucking with me,” the brunette said finally her eyes narrowing as she glared at the blonde.

“I’d certainly love to,” Chase responded smirking, her eyes raking over the brunette’s form appreciatively. “But I’m not. Australians are quirky like that,” she continued glancing at the timer on the stove. “The recipes have changed a little since my heyday, but the names remain equally ridiculous.”

Krista smiled. “Don’t you mean are ‘full of down-to-earth charm’?”

Chase rolled her eyes and emitted a very unlady-like snort.

“So we won’t be having wine from a box with didrido music to set the mood, then?” Krista asked feigning disappointment as Chase stuck up for her people’s culture.

“Who said you were staying for dinner?” Chase asked quirking an eyebrow at Krista.

Krista returned her gaze trying to keep the surprise she felt at the question off of her face. She had been told to meet Chase in the kitchen not that they would be dining together. She had just assumed, for some reason, that they would be dining together. She was actually looking forward to dining together. She’d spent most of the previous day on her own, Chase was really the only person that she knew in the coven, and she wasn’t comfortable with making friends with vampires, which meant that Chase was her only real source of companionship, not matter how pathetic that was.

She wanted to be staying for dinner.

“Am I not?” Krista asked finally keeping her voice level.

Chase was silent for a moment as she considered how to respond to Krista’s question. Her plan of course had been for Krista to join her for dinner; it’s why she had had Sabine send her down to the kitchen. The decision in front of her now was whether she was willing to punish herself by sending Krista away for the momentary satisfaction of bossing the other woman around, or whether she could just follow through with her original plan and perhaps have the opportunity to bother Krista for the next hour.

“Set the table,” Chase finally replied turning her back on Krista.

Krista smirked and then turned to the side to begin rifling though the cabinets.

\---

  
Chase had been away from the coven on ‘business’ for the majority of the previous day, and much of their dinner conversation revolved around Krista’s report and Chase’s inquiries about the operation the brunette had been tasked with. It wasn’t exactly light dinner conversation, but considering the nature of their relationship at Marcus’ coven it was familiar territory for them, and thus relatively comfortable.  
“How’s your leg?” Chase asked glancing over at Krista before concentrating on serving dessert. She knew that nowadays they usually served the dish with ice-cream, but ice cream had been a rare commodity when she was living in Australia and so she considered serving it with the pudding tacky and unnecessary.

“It’ll be fine,” Krista replied resisting the urge to touch the spot on her leg that had been pierced with shrapnel during the mission. She had tried not to favor it while walking around Chase not wanting the blonde to know that the wound wasn’t completely healed. She still remembered the lecture she had been given by Chase and Marcus last time she had been impaled and she didn’t need to hear it again.

“So stubborn,” Chase murmured looking over at Krista again, knowing that the wound was still there. She had noticed Krista favoring the leg even though the brunette had tried to mask it. “Now that you don’t have Blade’s poison anymore, you need to feed more than ever,” Chase continued a little irritably. “You can’t go on like you have been.”

“Can’t I?” Krista asked a little petulantly, putting down her spoon even though the pudding was quite good so that she could glare at Chase.

“No, you can’t,” Chase replied sneering slightly. “Be honest,” she continued a second later. “This is the first meal you’ve been able to keep down in days, isn’t it? That animal filth isn’t sitting so well with you anymore, is it?”

Krista growled softly her eyes burning into Chase’s.

“You can’t survive on that shit, Krista,” Chase said when Krista made no verbal reply to her. The brunette’s furious silence was response enough. “The serum was the only thing allowing you to keep that stuff down. Why do you think Blade needed it created for him in the first place? Vampires were not meant to subsist on vermin and swine,” Chase continued placing her elbows on the table and leaning forward as she spoke.

“I absolutely will not hunt,” Krista replied meeting Chase’s gaze. She didn’t care how uncomfortable it made her.

“Use the fridge,” Chase said gesturing angrily in the direction of the storage unit in question. “It comes from blood banks and volunteers. We don’t carry around bloody collection kits on hunts. That blood is clean.”

Krista was silent after Chase spoke, still uncomfortable with the idea of drinking human blood no matter how much Chase tried to convince her that no one had to die in order to feed her. “I’ll be fine,” Krista said softly a few moments later looking away from Chase.

“You’ll be fine,” Chase muttered mockingly in response shaking her head. “Stupid twat,” she continued glancing across the table at Krista. “Eat your pudding.”

Krista could learn her lesson the fucking hard way, then.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Week Later**

Krista rolled off of her bed into a standing position wrapping her arms around herself before she began pacing the room, tiny mewling sounds coming out of her throat every few seconds.

She was sweating. She could feel the thin material of her tank top clinging to her back and dark brown hair sticking to her forehead and neck.

It hurt.

Her whole body ached.

She stumbled as she walked, dizzy and uncoordinated.

She dropped down to the floor, resting her back against the side of her bed and dropped her head down onto her knees.

She was hungry.

Chase was right. When they had talked over dinner the week before she had been able to keep the animal blood down, it had made her feel queasy, but she had been able to keep it down. Unpleasant as it was, she was getting nutrients from it and that had been what was important. After all, she didn’t particularly think that life as she was should be a walk in the park, and the unpleasantness of feeding seemed like a fitting sort of penance.

But Chase was right. As the rest of the serum flushed itself from her system she became less and less able to process the animal blood. She had kept trying to drink it for five days after her system started to reject it but she hadn’t been able to keep any of it down. She had learned a very important life lesson from that, the only thing worse than puking, was puking blood. And she’d been doing a lot of that lately.

She hadn’t even bothered with the animal blood that day.

Desperately hungry she had managed to stumble down to the kitchen despite her fatigue and had fried up some eggs and made some toast. She’d gobbled it down standing right by the stove, but it hadn’t made a difference, it didn’t even fulfill her for a moment.

Krista growled in frustration out into the room, her fangs showing, before she dropped her head back down into her lap and hugged her arms around her legs as she shook slightly.

\---

Krista hissed turning her head to the side sharply trying to hide her eyes as her room filled up with light.

Growling weakly she turned to look towards the door.

“My dear, that is perhaps the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard,” Chase drawled looking down at Krista, her tone amused and smug.

“Turn off the light,” Krista muttered roughly still averting her face though it made no difference.

“I think not,” Chase replied crossing the room moving over to the window on the other side and pushing it open. “I appreciate the fact that you might have been homeless before I found you, but as long as you’re living here I’d rather if you didn’t smell like it,” she went on, her nose wrinkling a little as she turned back to face Krista.

Crossing the room once more Chase moved back to the door. She spoke softly for a moment and then came back into the room closing the door behind her with her foot before putting a tray down on the dresser.

“I think you’ve indulged for long enough,” Chase commented leaning back against the dresser and Krista looked up at her blinking, her eyes finally beginning to adjust to the light. “For three days now you’ve been completely useless. Lesson learned,” she continued clapping her hands. “It’s time to eat.”

And with that Chase turned around and turned over a glass resting on the tray she had carried in before picking up the pitcher beside it and pouring a glass of dark crimson liquid.

Krista breathed in deeply, her lips parting as the smell hit her.

Food.

“That’s a good girl,” Chase cooed as she approached Krista with the glass, crouching down just in front of the brunette, waving the glass of blood under her nose like a fine wine before moving it so that the glass rested against her lips. “Open the hanger,” Chase said softly a smile playing at her lips.

Krista’s lips parted slightly and Chase began to tilt the glass, easing the blood within towards Krista’s lips, but by the time the liquid migrated close enough Krista had clamped her mouth down again.

“No,” Krista said, her voice somewhat muffled with the glass still against it. “Can’t,” she said calling up what little strength she had left in her body and drawing her hand up to knock the glass out of Chase’s. It wasn’t much strength, and Chase was able to hold on to the glass, but she did manage to knock it away from her mouth.

Chase stood up, staring down at Krista irritably. She drew her leg back and kicked Krista in the shin. Did the skinny idiot think that she was the only person in the history of the vampire nation that had difficulty transitioning? It was never a picnic for any of them in the beginning.

“Why are you so stupid?” Chase yelled drawing her foot back and kicking Krista again before she ran a hand through her hair and turned around placing the glass of blood back down on the tray. “Look at you,” Chase went on turning back around. Krista was weak and vulnerable. She was utterly helpless. If she had been this stubborn and had stayed out on the streets on her own instead of coming with her to the coven, she would have been easy prey for any predator she came across, human or vampire. As vampires they had so much strength and power, but they had to feed to utilize it, if they didn’t it was useless, they were useless. Chase knew that for a fact.

She kicked Krista again, and Krista growled weakly and tried to angle herself away from Chase’s blows somewhat unsuccessfully.

“Pathetic,” Chase spat, drawing her leg back again but not bothering to kick Krista again. It wasn’t satisfying in the least with the brunette in such a sorry state. “I should just let you waste away in your inglorious, shabby wretchedness,” she continued sighing before she reached for her sleeves and began to roll them up.

“I haven’t even gotten two solid days work out of you,” Chase grumbled as she brought her arm up to her mouth and bit down, puncturing her own skin. Krista might have been able to resist room temperature blood being fed to her in a glass, but Chase knew that in the state she was in, if a pulsing vein flowing with blood was put in front of her there would be no way that Krista would be able to resist it. It was a survival instinct. She would drink from an open wound.

Bending down again, Chase settled herself on the floor beside Krista and grabbed a handful of luscious dark hair then tugged Krista towards her placing her bleeding arm in front of Krista’s mouth.

“Drink you idiot,” Chase said as she heard a low moan emanate from Krista and felt the brunette’s tongue rub against her skin. “Even animals are smart enough to drink when led to water,” she continued giving Krista’s hair a hard tug, knowing that angering her would help bring out the beast. “Are you dumber than a bloody dog?”

Krista reached up, her arms wrapping around Chase’s forearm holding it in place against her mouth. She didn’t want to drink from Chase, but even as the thought ran through her head she felt herself licking up the blood that stained Chase’s wrist from where the blonde had bitten herself.

Chase’s skin was so warm against her mouth, her blood hot and thick, and she was so hungry. She was so hungry. She needed to drink, just a little bit, just enough so that she could think, a little taste, just a little taste…

Chase tipped her head back, her lips parting, sucking in a deep breath as she felt Krista’s fangs penetrate her skin as the brunette began to drink. The fingers Chase had tangled in Krista’s hair loosened their hold, her fingers massaging the brunette’s scalp as Krista yanked her arm tighter against her mouth, her fingers digging in to the flesh of Chase’s arm leaving tiny half-moon shaped cuts. The sensation was positively delicious.

Chase tilted her head back, her fingers moving softly in Krista’s hair as the brunette continued to drink. She was such as infuriating woman. Everything, absolutely everything with Krista had to be a struggle. It seemed clear to Chase that the brunette was some kind of masochist, but she wasn’t even the fun kind. Somehow Krista had found a way to ruin that too.

Chase closed her eyes and sighed softly as Krista continued to drink.

She didn’t even know why she cared about the stupid woman or why she was helping her. No one had helped her when she was turned and she managed just fine … eventually. Besides, Krista had been nothing but a bother and an inconvenience to her since they met, and she had been even more worthless since Chase had tracked her down a week and a half ago. It made absolutely no sense for her to be putting herself out like this for Krista. But she found that her actions when it came to Krista usually made little to no sense to her. Even back at Marcus’ coven, she had lusted after Krista as much as she hated her. She was fascinated by her as much as she was bored to tears by her girl-scout philosophizing. She felt worry and concern for her as much as she wanted to throw her out a window at noon on a cloudless day. She was attracted to her as well as repulsed by her, but the attraction, the lust, the concern and the fascination always seemed to win out.

Chase’s head lolled to the side tiredly and her eyes snapped open.

Chase yanked her arm away from Krista’s mouth, blood pumping out of her arm until she brought it up to her own lips, sucking until the wound healed over.

Krista’s head tilted to the side sleepily and she gazed over at Chase with a glassy expression. Her colour had already improved, but Chase knew that it would be a few hours before the full effects of her blood kicked in and rejuvenated Krista’s system. And even then she would need to feed a couple more times before she had recovered completely, instead of just enough to function.

Chase stood, swaying slightly, feeling the blood loss acutely. Carefully she took a few steps forward moving over towards the dresser and picked up the glass of blood she had placed there earlier.

It wasn’t her favorite way to dine, but she needed to top up her system.

\---

Chase wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before smacking her lips.

That had hit the spot.

Turning she saw Krista still slumped over on the floor. Putting the glass down, Chase then moved over to Krista and hoisted the brunette up easily before laying her down on her bed.

Chase sat down on the bed beside Krista’s prone body a moment later. She was certainly in better shape than the brunette, but she didn’t feel quite ready to leave the room yet. As the coven’s fearless leader she needed to seem almost invulnerable and she was sure that she seemed anything but at the moment all ashen faced and specked with blood.

At least that’s what she told herself, before she shifted on the bed, lifting her legs up onto the mattress and pushed backwards until her back was resting against the headboard, her eyes dropping down to her lap a moment later when she felt Krista’s arm snake around her waist and her head come to rest in her lap.

The brunette was still operating on instinct. The blood flowing through her system was acting like an intoxicant, it was the hemoglobin equivalent to the rush someone deprived of oxygen for some time got when they took in their first gulp of air. All Krista was aware of at the moment was a warm body, nice smells and gentle touches and she nuzzled into them.

Chase allowed her eyes to close as her hand idly petted Krista’s hair. She’d stay for a few more moments until Krista had fallen asleep and then she would leave.

\---

Krista swallowed, shifting against the warm body underneath hers as she slowly awoke. Pulling her face away from the warm nook it had been nestled in, she licked her lips only to discover that they were slick and sticky. She blinked, the taste on her lips quickly chasing away the lingering effects of the deep sleep she had been.

“Finally awake are you?”

Krista turned her head to the side blinking rapidly trying to focus her eyes though she recognized the voice speaking to her immediately as Chase.

“It’s alright if you over-slept. There’s no rush since you just had breakfast,” Chase continued lifting her right hand to her neck, drawing her fingers down her own skin before pulling them back so that she could look at them. The tips were coated in blood.

Krista eyes followed Chase’s movement, her tongue licking out of her mouth unconsciously as she stared at the blood smeared digits. She still had the taste of Chase on her lips and it called to her. She felt herself swaying towards the tantalizing reddened digits.

Chase smiled as she felt Krista lean forward and then felt the brunette’s lips on her fingers, sucking the digits into her mouth, cleaning them thoroughly before releasing them.

Krista moaned and fell back against the mattress throwing her arm over her eyes as her mind began to clear. She remembered why Chase was in her room, though she was somewhat uncertain about how Chase ended up in her bed.

“I fed from you,” Krista breathed out a moment later, her tone embarrassed and slightly pained.

“A few times,” Chase said her fingers unconsciously going back to the healed wound on her neck. “You were a hungry girl, even when unconscious,” she continued sliding her legs off of the bed as Krista brooded or whatever it was she was doing and moved over to the dresser once more pouring herself another glass of blood.

She had lost far more in the past ten hours than she had planned on when she first showed up at Krista’s door. After ‘resting her eyes’ she had awoken to find Krista on her neck drinking once more. She probably should have left after that, but there was something quite satisfying about feeling Krista Starr on top of her sucking her off that she just couldn’t tear herself away from.

“How do you feel?” Chase asked once she had drained the glass, her tongue peeking out of her mouth to catch a stray drop of blood before she focused her attention on Krista.

“Better,” Krista responded watching Chase longingly as the blonde licked her lips and hating herself for it. It probably wasn’t possible for her to sound anymore more grudging. “I should stay thank you,” Krista continued a moment later still lying on her side as she watched the blonde.

“But you won’t,” Chase replied knowing that there was a part of Krista that resented her deeply at the moment for forcing blood upon her even though she felt better because of it. Newborns were irritating that way, the vampire equivalent of teenagers, always trying to bite the hand that quite literally feed them. Ungrateful whiners the lot of them, but they were so cute.

Krista didn’t reply and Chase picked up the tray she had brought with her and moved towards the door.

“Chase,” Krista said, angling her head to look at the blonde as she shifted the tray into one hand and reached for the door knob with the other.

Chase lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Are you okay?” Krista asked studying the blonde. She realized that Chase was only trying to help her. She couldn’t quite figure out why that was, but when she had needed help in the past the blonde had usually been there for her and it seemed that she was still was. “I must have taken a lot from you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Chase replied smirking a little bit. She could see past Krista’s elementary word games. She understood that by asking about her was Krista’s was thanking her in her own stubborn way. She knew because it was something that she would have done. “I’m not a stubborn, pig-headed idiot,” she continued a moment later gazing down at Krista. “At least when it comes to feeding,” she added before Krista could comment. That hadn’t always been the case of course, but she had learned in time, as Krista would.

“So that’s a ‘yes’ then,” Krista muttered though there was a hint of something that resembled affection in her voice.

Chase opened the door without commenting and stepped out into the hallway pulling it in behind her, a small completely unwanted smile tugging at her lips as she began to walk away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Two Weeks Later**

Krista didn’t look up from polishing her guns as the door to her room opened. There was only one person that ever came to see her there.

“You really must keep your weapons of destruction looking spit spot. It’s the only civil thing to do,” Chase commented breezily as she closed the door to Krista’s room behind her. Krista’s room really was becoming like a home away from home to her.

“Uh huh,” Krista agreed. “There’s no reason we can’t be civil,” she continued dryly finishing up with the gun she had in her hand and placing it back in its case before turning away from the desk to look towards the bed where Chase had settled herself. “You’re late.”

Chase made an unkind sound in her throat. “Paperwork.”

Krista watched the blonde noting the unhappy set of her shoulders and the pinched, weary expression on her face. She didn’t think she had ever seen Chase stressed out before. She’d seen her pissed off, she’d seen her seething with anger, she’d seen her delirious with malicious joy, she’d see her worried and concerned, but never stressed out. “You should come with us on the raid tomorrow night, stretch your legs,” Krista responded throwing her arm over the back of her chair relaxing as she watched Chase. She wasn’t an expert on the elder vampire or anything, but she was pretty sure beating people up and firing a gun was one thing that would cheer Chase up.

“Cruel temptress,” Chase replied sighing though there a touch of amusement in her voice as she glanced over at Krista. She missed being out in the field. It wasn’t as much fun being the boss as she thought it would be. Sure it was fun ordering people around and beating them when they were insubordinate, but she could understand why Marcus got so cranky sometimes. Having an ivory tower was nice but never getting to leave it got tiresome after a while. “I have to meet with the bankers.”

Krista stared at Chase for a moment wondering whether it was a good time to ask. Since arriving at the coven she had wondered where Chase had gotten the money to start up the operation she was running from. Chase had had nothing but the suit on her back with her when she had disappeared from the conclave, and Krista knew that she hadn’t set foot back in Marcus’ building afterwards. She also knew that as soon as they had returned back in Detroit, that Chase had been blacklisted by Marcus for her betrayal and all of the accounts that she had access to were changed. She had been standing beside him when he made the calls.

Still, despite being on Marcus’ shit list, Krista wasn’t surprised that Chase had managed to gather a following. After Marcus’ death it made sense to her that members of his coven gravitated towards Chase. Chase was a known, she was familiar and after all of the change they had suffered through over a relatively short period of time she understood the desire for something familiar. Besides, Marcus had not been very popular with the other Houses after his actions at the conclave had been revealed, and they were all suspect because of their association with him. Siding with Chase was actually a smart move for self-preservation for those from Marcus’ coven since she was known to have sided with the purebloods.

She just couldn’t be sure about how Chase had gotten the funds to run everything.

“You’re always meeting with bankers in the middle of the night,” Krista began carefully a few seconds later. “Where did you get enough money to make these bankers so … accommodating?”

Chase smiled knowingly before glancing over at Krista. “You’ve wanted to ask that since the day you got here, haven’t you?” the blonde asked smirking.

Krista shrugged but looked at her expectantly.

“You should know by know I’m a survivor,” Chase began shifting on Krista’s bed to make herself more comfortable. “Charlotte’s offer included more than just the promise of seeing Marcus die painfully,” Chase continued a wolfish smile touching her lips. “There was also a substantial monetary component.” Krista nodded that made sense. She’d suspected that Chase’s arrangement with the purebloods had something to do with it. “Obviously things didn’t go exactly according to plan,” Krista smirked at that as Chase continued to smirk. All of the purebloods melting into gelatinous black goo was a little more substantial than things not going exactly according to plan. “But even if Marcus had died at the conclave as was planned I would have needed money to start up my own operation so the funds had already been set aside.” She always asked for the money upfront. It was one of the only lessons worth learning that she had picked up during her marriage to Frederick. “So while things didn’t work out quite as the purebloods would have liked, everything worked out just fine for me.”

Krista shook her head. “He warned me about you, you know,” Krista said moving off of the chair and over to the bed taking a seat by Chase’s feet. “He had a healthy fear of you,” she continued remembering how he told her that they had not seen the last of Chase and that when the blonde showed up again there would be hell to pay.

“Of course he did,” Chase replied stretching luxuriously though her eyes remained locked on Krista. “He knew me.”

Krista looked over at her and smirked though she didn’t for one second doubt that what the blonde said was true. Chase had a way of making true statements sound teasing or playful, and the mistake many made was to believe that she actually was being teasing or playful. She wasn’t. Krista had seen the blonde go from being a sexy, playful tease one moment to a stone cold predator the next, and she knew that one would benefit from paying the most attention to the things Chase said in the sweetest tones.

Krista started, her revere broken as the speaker in the hallway crackled loudly.

“Dawn approaches,” Chase whispered ominously as the speaker announced that everyone should return to their rooms and secure their windows. It was a safety precaution Chase had devised after they lost of a couple idiots who had fallen into a drunken stupor around four in the morning and woken up in flames around seven the week before. Chase had told her that usually she had no patience for suffering fools, but she couldn’t afford to have her people dying on her because of stupidity when they could be dying for her in the field.

Krista felt a shiver of excitement run through her as the announcement finished but tried not to let it show as she calmly moved up the bed until she was seated beside Chase, her back against the headboard as well as they sat shoulder to shoulder.

They didn’t see each other much during the night time unless it was at a briefing for a mission. Chase was usually occupied with administerial concerns, and she was either out of the building on a mission, running or walking through the city, or running training exercises. However, since that first night Chase had come to see her in her room and she had fed from the blonde, they had seen each other every day just before morning.

When Chase had showed up at her door just before dawn the night after Krista had first fed from her they had fought. Krista remembered Chase offering her more blood from a glass, telling her that she needed to drink, that she still wasn’t recovered completely. She had declined as politely as she could, since she was touched by Chase’s apparent concern for her, though she was also somewhat mystified by it. Despite her considerate rejection however, Chase reacted rather badly to being turned down and had begun to curse and insult her, before moving onto slapping her and throwing things at her as she continued to hurl obscenities. Krista had taken the abuse for a moment, understanding that she was frustrating to Chase, but soon she began to yell back, and soon after that she was striking back at Chase, picking up the glass Chase had offered her and hurling it across the room. Soon after that Chase pounced on her and they went tumbling to the bed clawing at each other and breathing heavily. Chase had stared down at her then her lips pulled back in a snarl and then brought a finger up to her own neck and slashed it with her nail before she dragged Krista’s head towards it. Krista had tried to resist, she fought against Chase’s hold, but fighting only made it worse, it made her blood race and that combined with the smell of Chase’s blood and the slick, warm feel of it against her nose, cheeks and lips as Chase pressed her face into her was too much for Krista and she drank, greedily. Chase had held her gently as she got her breathing back control before she leaned in and licked the access blood from around Krista’s mouth and cheeks as the brunette lay pressed against her. Once she had cleaned Krista up, she had looked at her, her eyes burning into Krista’s and Krista flashed back to the numerous times Chase had circled her, her eyes running up and down her body as if she was wanted to devour her, and she shivered. However, the blonde sighed a moment later and rested her head against the headboard, exhaustion written all over her body. Krista thought about moving out of Chase’s arms, but she was surprisingly content in the blonde’s embrace and stayed right where she was until she drifted off to sleep. When she woke up she was alone, but Chase’s scent still lingered in the room.

The next night and the night after that and the night after that had progressed in a similar fashion. But on the fourth night Krista had simply sat in her chair and stared at Chase morosely when she entered her room. Chase had observed her for a few moments and then asked if they were going to fight, before putting a foot forward to show Krista the extra pointy boots she worn just for the occasion. Krista shook her head and said she didn’t want to fight anymore and offered Chase a seat. She knew she would drink, she always did. Besides, she had begun to anticipate the fights with Chase and when they crashed against a wall or her desk or the bed she had begun to bite Chase without the blonde prompting her, she had begun to press her body against Chase’s as she drank, her adrenaline turning into arousal as she fed. Their nightly ritual had begun to excite her and that alarmed her. She would feed, Chase would make sure that she did, but she would attempt to do it without fighting in the hope that it would put an end to the increasingly powerful desire she had been feeling for the blonde.

On the fourth night Krista decided that they wouldn’t fight, that she would talk to Chase about the report for a mission she had just come back from like normal, civilized people. And they did, Chase took a seat on her bed and they had a rather pleasant conversation before silence descended and Krista slowly moved to sit beside the blonde on her bed. They sat quietly side by side for a moment and then Chase reached up brushing her hair off of her shoulder before lowering her arm again. Krista had stared at the exposed length of Chase’s throat for a moment and then bent over and brought her lips against Chase’s neck and biting down.

That had become their routine since that night.

Krista tilted her head to the side watching Chase for a moment before the blonde turned to look at her as well. Krista’s eyes dropped down to Chase’s neck. She stared at the pale skin there for a moment and then reached out, gently brushing Chase’s hair off of her shoulder exposing the blonde’s neck completely before she lowered her mouth to Chase’s skin.

Chase tilted her head back as she felt Krista began to suck at her neck. The brunette had learned to go more slowly as time went on - or more accurately as she began to feed willingly. When she was aware of what she was doing, Krista began to be able to control the speed with which she took blood from her. The process took longer but it was more gradual which made it much easier on Chase’s system not to mention more pleasurable for them both.

Chase’s fingers moved to stroke Krista’s hair. Krista moaned nuzzling into her neck, her body shifting as she pressed herself more firmly against Chase’s side. Chase’s fingers migrated from Krista’s hair down to her neck, stroking the skin there softly before she nudged Krista’s face forward tightly pressing her against her flesh. Krista’s body shifted, her leg moving to cover Chase’s as she slid on top of the blonde, her lips never leaving contact with Chase’s skin.

Krista rocked against Chase’s body.

Chase arched up into Krista’s warmth.

Krista felt a growl rumbling forth in her throat, a now familiar desire to kiss the blonde, to touch her, to grab hold of her chin and hold her head back as she bit her shoulders, and collarbone and breasts, rising within her. She had hoped that not fighting before the feeding would get rid of her desire, she was wrong. Fighting and feeding had keyed them up, but it also took a lot out of Chase which allowed them to rest comfortably afterwards. The slow feeding she had started to do just created a slow burn of arousal that left both of them flushed and wanting after she had pulled away and it was getting harder and harder for her not to respond when Chase would reach out and touch her afterwards.

Krista rolled off of Chase before her hips could buck again and onto the mattress staring up at the ceiling once she had stopped moving.

Chase straightened her clothes and slumped down on the mattress beside Krista a long, ragged sigh releasing itself from her throat.

“Are you tired?” Krista asked a few minutes later into the silence that always came down around them after she fed.

“Yes,” Chase replied. It was only partially true. She felt slightly fatigued because of the blood loss, but it wasn’t that bone weary tiredness she had felt before Krista learned to take her time and allow Chase’s body to adjust to the blood loss.

“You should stay,” Krista said automatically resisting the urge to turn to face Chase.

Chase was silent for a long moment.

“No, I’ll go,” she said finally shifting, moving to sit up so that she could climb over Krista and off of the bed. Her body was thrumming with unsatisfied need, as it usually did after her sessions with Krista, but it was stronger than usual for some reason and the idea of lying beside the brunette, of touching her only to have Krista stroke her hand tenderly and move it to a safe part of her body set Chase on edge.

“What?” Krista asked surprised as she got jostled as Chase moved. “Wait? Why?” she asked not expecting the disruption to what had become their routine, surprised by the strong feelings of unhappiness that settled upon her at the idea of spending the daylight hours alone. “Are you okay? Did I take too much?”

Chase looked down at Krista unsure how to respond to that question. Physically she was fine, but she was not okay. She enjoyed this time with Krista, talking to her about her day, sitting with her quietly, feeling Krista pressed against her. It was all something that she looked forward to, but for the past couple of nights she had felt herself becoming more and more uneasy with what they were doing. She had no reference for what was happening with Krista, she had never had a relationship like it before. She didn’t even really understand what her relationship with Krista was and after one-hundred and twenty-six years of life that was extremely distressing to her. It wasn’t friendship the way she understood it. She had never been this close to a friend before. Never in her wildest imagination would it have occurred to her to have a chat with Fritz and then let him drink from her before they cuddled. But they weren’t lovers either. Although feeding was a sexual act for vampires and both she and Krista were aroused by the act, they never progressed farther then the feeding itself which troubled Chase as well. She had never been so intimate with someone without being physically intimate with them. She understood sex, she understood power plays, but this tender and chatse interaction with Krista confused her, and she didn’t like being confused. Confusion upset her.

“Chase?” Krista questioned gently as the blonde retreated into herself. “Chas…” Krista started to say again, however the blonde looked up at her mid-word and when Krista saw her expression she trailed off.

Chase’s eyes blazed blue and her lips were drawn back showing her fangs. She was going to make things make sense.

Krista blinked and licked her lips as she felt a powerful throb between her legs at Chase’s ferocious look.

And then Chase was on her straddling Krista’s waist before forcing the brunette’s head up and bringing her lips down on Krista’s kissing her with an almost furious passion. Krista’s lips parted automatically and Chase deepened the kiss, driving her hips into Krista’s as she attacked her mouth.

Chase moaned into Krista’s mouth and dropped her hands to the brunette’s waist before slowly drawing them up her sides until she cupped Krista’s breasts. This was better, she understood this.

No, no, no, no, no, Krista’s brain screamed as she took hold of Chase’s waist and rolled them over so that they were both lying on the bed, her lips leaving Chase’s mouth to kiss her jaw, and then down her neck, licking and nipping at the spot on Chase’s neck she had just fed from, where specks of blood still remained.

Krista’s body screamed, yes, yes, yes, as Chase spread her thighs making room for Krista to slip in between her legs while her lips continued to kiss the blonde over her collarbone down to the swell of her breasts which she licked and bit at impatiently.

She didn’t want this; she had been fighting against this.

Krista’s mind continued to try to tell her that she didn’t like Chase or want Chase, but her body vehemently disagreed as she bit impatiently at the buttons holding Chase’s shirt together before bringing her hands up and just yanking the shirt apart burying her face between the blonde’s glorious breasts releasing a content sigh.

Krista’s body told her mind that she liked Chase, that she really, really liked Chase, and her skin, and scent, and her body, and her blood, and all of those things put together sweaty and naked. Chase was good, Chase was sweet, she wanted more of Chase, as much as her as she could get with her mouth and her hands and her teeth.

Krista’s mind tried to disagree but it wasn’t so sure anymore because when she thought about it, she kind of did like Chase. She liked Chase’s sense of humor, and talking to Chase, and arguing with Chase and planning missions with Chase.

She liked Chase?

Krista froze abdomen to abdomen with Chase, her face pressed against the blonde’s breast, her mouth open and wanting on the pale, full flesh.

Chase felt the pause, and used the opportunity to flip Krista over so that she was on top.

“Don’t think,” Chase growled shoving her thigh between Krista’s legs and pushing up forcefully, growling as Krista automatically pushed back, rubbing herself against her leg. “That’s it,” Chase groaned softly, leaning down to kiss Krista’s throat and up her jaw before bringing her lips against the brunette’s once more. “It feels good,” Chase murmured against her as Krista continued to ride her thigh, the brunette’s hand slipping under the parted material of her shirt, moving to the flesh of her back which she grasped and kneaded and scratched.

Krista growled, as she felt Chase’s teeth puncture her skin, her nails coming down hard on Chase’s skin as her hips bucked powerfully. “Fuck,” she hissed slowly as Chase began to drink from her, the blonde’s hands moving to cover her breasts, massaging and teasing them through her shirt.

“Yes,” Krista groaned a few moments later as Chase’s lips moved down her throat a fraction of an inch and bit down again before moving another few centimeters and biting again.

Krista’s hands slid down Chase’s back and worked their way under the waistband of the blonde’s pants clawing at the globes of her ass as she tried to yank Chase towards her, as she tried to force the blonde to fuck her.

Chase left one hand on the mattress to support herself and brought her other to Krista’s waist fighting with the button at the top of her jeans, finding it hard to open with one hand. Chase growled in frustration and slipped her fingers beneath the top if the jeans and the yanked impatiently trying to rip the pants apart. However, the firm material of the jeans would not give way and simply drew Krista’s whole body up against Chase’s, causing the brunette to throw her head back and purr before she fell back against the mattress once more as Chase released her.

“Undo your fucking pants,” Chase panted finally realizing that she wasn’t going to be able to rip the material of Krista’s pants as easily as the brunette has decimated her shirt.

Krista drew her hand away from Chase’s body and quickly unbuttoned her pants and slid the zipper down, her hands giving way to Chase’s a moment later as the blonde sat back on her haunches and grasped the loosened waist of Krista’s jeans and began tugging them down, flowing down the bed with the pants until she was kneeling at the foot of the bed. Dropping the pants she then climbed back up onto the bed kissing her way up Krista’s legs.

Chase moaned as the smell of Krista’s arousal reached her nose, a fanged grin coming to her face as Krista automatically spread her legs apart wide enough to accommodate Chase’s body. Chase smiled against the brunette’s thigh and then clamped down biting and sucking at the skin there as her eyes feasted on the sight of Krista’s pussy, slick puffy lips parted, swollen with blood, waiting for her, begging to be plundered.

Krista’s hands shot between her legs grabbing Chase’s hair tightly, her thighs automatically squeezing the blonde’s head when she felt Chase’s tongue on her for the first time. Chase simply brought her hands up to Krista’s thighs forcing them apart again, her lips and tongue continuing to move against Krista throughout the entire process.

Krista back arched off of the bed as she felt Chase’s lips wrap around her clit and suck it into her mouth hard, her tongue swirling around the bundle of nerves with a deliriously pleasurable roughness. Krista tightened the hold she had on Chase’s white-blonde hair and yanked, tilting Chase’s face back until their eyes met.

Chase licked her lips.

“Again,” Krista growled, her chest heaving as her nipples strained against the thin material of her tank top.

“I was planning on it,” Chase sassed smiling before lowering her head once more.

Krista mewled slightly long minutes later when she felt Chase’s mouth move from between her legs and begin to kiss her stomach, however as she felt Chase’s fingers smoothly slide inside of her and begin pumping the mewl turned into a satisfied sigh.

Krista gladly parted her lips a moment later to eagerly accept Chase’s lips when the blonde’s face appeared above her own, her hands trailing up and down what she could reach of Chase’s body as the blonde continued pound her fingers into her.

Chase stayed at Krista’s lips for a few moments, enjoying the heat and eagerness of the brunette’s mouth before shifting down slightly to take one of Krista’s nipples between her teeth, biting down on the tight bud through the material of Krista’s tank top.

Soon Krista was moaning constantly, her hips thrusting to meet Chase’s fingers as her hands roamed aimlessly over the blonde’s body. Chase kissed her way back up to Krista’s neck. The brunette was close to cumming, she could feel it. Chase licked at Krista’s throat affectionately for a moment and then bit down, drinking from the younger vampire in earnest as Krista arched up into her body.

“Scratch me,” Chase breathed out against Krista’s neck as she felt the brunette’s body begin to tremble. Krista was going to cum any second and she wanted to cum with her. Blood and pain could do that. “Hard Krista, cut me,” Chase hissed again her voice tight with desire.

Krista dug her nails into the flesh of Chase’s back as her orgasm began to crest and then yanked her nails down leaving deep gauges in Chase’s lovely white skin. Chase moaned pressing her face tightly into Krista’s neck as she felt herself begin to bleed. The blonde grasped onto Krista’s waist with her free hand and groaned as she began to cum as well, her body trembling against Krista’s as the younger vampire arched up into her.

\---

  
Chase ran her finger down Krista’s stomach, stopping at the brunette’s naval allowing her finger to twirl around in it for a moment before she drew her finger back up Krista’s stomach.

“That tickles,” Krista mumbled quietly not lifting a muscle to try and actually stop the blonde. She didn’t really mind the touch and even if she did she wasn’t sure that she could move. Every part of her body ached. She had never felt so mindlessly content in her life.

“Vampires aren’t ticklish,” Chase informed her in a mockingly serious tone. “It’s not scary or intimidating.”

“Well, this vampire is ticklish,” Krista replied, groaning and angling away from Chase a second later as the blonde’s fingers began to dance against her stomach trying to tickle her for real.

“See, not intimidating or scary in the least,” Chase breathed out a moment later stilling her fingers against Krista’s flesh.

“Chase,” Krista said into the silence a few minutes later as Chase rested her head against her shoulder and placed her arm over her stomach. “I’m sore.”

“Where?” Chase asked knowingly smiling against Krista’s shoulder.

“It starts at my head and goes down approximately five feet seven inches,” Krista responded before wiggling her toes. “My feet are okay.”

Chase laughed at that and snuggled against Krista’s side finding the brunette quite adorable in her euphoric post-coital haze. “It’s lovely isn’t it?” Chase asked knowing that while Krista’s body ached a little that it was an enjoyable sort of ache that made one want to stretch and luxuriate in the pleasurable damage they had inflicted upon themselves, and wish for the ache never to go away. She felt the same way.

“Yeah,” Krista agreed sounding dazed but happy as she pointed her toes and stretched a little. “Chase …”

“Go to sleep Krista,” Chase interjected amusement clear in her voice as she stroked the brunette’s stomach tenderly. “We have to be up in a few hours.”

“Will you be here?” Krista asked blinking sleepily. She was actually quite tired.

“Yeah,” Chase breathed out softly feeling Krista relax against her. Chase however tensed a little at her automatic response. She never stayed until morning, not with Krista during their feeding sessions before, nor with any of her other lovers. She was a tactile person, and she quite enjoyed post-coital touching, but morning-afters were not something she particularly cared for, and she was surprised that she didn’t even hesitate when agreeing to it a moment before.

However, as she felt Krista shift against her and her own body begin to relax at the contact she decided that she would worry about that later.


	6. Chapter 6

**That Night**

Krista tilted her head up and looked towards the ceiling sighing as she realized that she had been staring again. Chase was marching up and down the briefing room as Krista’s team put on the last of their gear and went through weapons checks, inspecting and overseeing everything. Normally Krista would have played a more active role in this procedure, and in the past she had actually gotten quite annoyed with Chase’s hovering, asking the blonde why she put her in charge if she just wanted to do everything herself, but she didn’t mind it so much at the moment. She was having a hard time concentrating and Chase going through the checks kept everyone from noticing how distracted she was.

She was the one who had asked Chase to stay the day, she knew that, but she found herself at loss as to what to say to the blonde when she awoke at sunset with the Chase spooned behind her. The wounds on their bodies had healed so she wasn’t faced with that upon waking up, but there was still a very naked - well half naked – Chase pressed up against her own partially nude body. In a way she found their near nudity worse than actually being naked because it was a reminder that they couldn’t even have been bothered to disrobe properly before ravishing each other.

The most distressing thing for her however, was that despite the fact that she was kind of horrified by what they had done with each other hours before, upon seeing Chase’s body she found that she had the powerful urge to pounce on Chase and fuck her until she lost consciousness again. In fact if Chase hadn’t rolled off of the bed and walked into her closet looking for a shirt that she could wear to her own room since Krista had ruined hers, she was sure that she would have had her mouth on Chase and her hand between her legs within seconds.

They had fallen into some light banter when Chase emerged from her closet and began to get dressed (“You look a little stiff, I didn’t hurt you did I?” “Look at the little kitten acting like a lion. With all the mewling you were doing I thought you might prefer it if I tossed you a ball of yarn.”), which relieved some of Krista’s tension, but once alone - while she showered and got dressed - and as she sat in the meeting room listening to Chase go through the operation one last time she knew that the momentary ease of tension had been just that.

“Krista,” Chase called halting the brunette as she began to exit the room with her team. Krista waved them on and turned to face Chase, watching her for a moment before crossing the small distance over to her.

“Are you straight?” Chase asked seriously, studying the brunette keenly.

“Apparently not,” Krista replied a little smirk coming to her lips despite herself as her eyes fell to Chase’s lips and she licked her own.

“I meant are you thinking straight,” Chase replied though her lips quirked as well at the younger vampires salacious look. “You were quiet during the meeting and barely paid attention during the weapons prep,” she continued the smile fading from her lips as she went back to studying the brunette. “Macro can take them tonight if you’re not up to it.”

Krista opened her mouth to respond flippantly, her first instinct to combat the insinuation that she wasn’t up to doing her job. However, as she considered Chase’s expression she closed her mouth and thought better of her response. There was none of the usual glee in Chase’s expression that was there when she was purposefully goading Krista or trying to provoke her. It seemed that the blonde was genuinely concerned about her.

“I’ll be fine,” Krista said finally looking away momentarily. “I was distracted during the meeting,” she admitted knowing there was no point in denying it, “but I’ll be ready when we get to the site. I’m a professional.”

Chase stared at her for a moment looking almost as if she wanted to question Krista again but finally she just nodded.

“Come back in one piece,” Chase said finally her posture loosening and her voice taking on a more familiar sarcastic tone. “I don’t feel like playing nursemaid. If you get anything chopped or blown off you’ll find yourself in Marta’s tender embrace,” she went on referring to the nurse she had managed to procure for the coven. Marta was good at her job, but she had just about the worst bedside manner ever. Chase had seen her people suffer through all sorts of injuries to avoid seeing the woman, and it had become a joke around the coven to threaten people with Marta – as long as the woman in question was out of ear shot, of course.

“Noted. In that case,” Krista replied smiling slightly, “all my body parts and I will see you when we get back,” she continued watching the blonde thoughtfully for a moment as if trying to come to a decision about something before she finally breathed in deeply and leaned forward awkwardly pressing her lips against Chase’s, the contact stiff and uncertain before she pulled back.

Chase blinked at her when she shifted back and Krista looked away from her. She wasn’t sure if she was capable of blushing anymore but if she was she was certain that she was blushing then.

“You better,” Chase said finally jerking her thumb towards the door though her voice was softer than usual and her other hand reached out to rest on Krista’s hip gently as she spoke. “Go, you’ve haven’t got all night.”

Krista bit her lip in an effort not to smile and nodded curtly before spinning on her heel and heading out the door. Chase watched her go, her shoulders sagging slightly a sigh emerging from her throat once Krista was out of sight.

She still had no idea what they were doing, but it looked like she was going to find out whether she wanted to or not.


	7. Chapter 7

**Three Weeks Later**

Krista ran her fingers over Chase’s back softly, watching as the marks she had made there moments before began to fade, her fingers slowly trailing down the curve of Chase’s torso, before Chase wiggled slightly and Krista couldn’t resist leaning down and nipping at her back lightly.

She loved lying like this with the blonde, the calm of it after the insanity of their lovemaking. While they were having sex there were times that they would be slower and gentler with each other than at other times, but for the most part it was never really gentle. It was hard, and messy, and passionate and all consuming, and just thinking about it made Krista throb with renewed desire, but it was nice afterwards to be able to touch Chase, to lie with her and have it be calm and soothing.

It amazed her really how soothing she found the blonde’s presence. She had tried to fight it when they first met, and again when she had come to Chase’s coven, but she had always had a powerful urge to just collapse into Chase’s embrace.

“What was your favorite decade?” Krista asked softly, kissing the back of Chase’s shoulder.

“This one, because I met you,” Chase responded flippantly, turning her head a little to gaze at Krista who rolled her eyes and bit down on her shoulder harder. Chase purred.

“I’m serious,” Krista mumbled a moment later pressing herself against Chase’s back, wrapping her arms around her waist.

“I was too … a little bit,” Chase replied her tone still light although she did sound more serious than before.

“Am I the best you’ve had in 126 years?” Krista asked knowing she was leaving a door open for Chase to mock the hell out of her, but not comfortable responding to the blonde’s comment another way. She wasn’t stupid or that self-deluded. She knew that what she and Chase were doing was more than sex. They weren’t just co-workers getting each other off occasionally. It would have been much easier for them if they were, she was sure, but it was more than that, they were more than that. Chase meant something to her, and despite the way they joked, she knew that she meant something to Chase as well.

“You’re certainly the most recent,” Chase replied smirking a little before shifting in Krista’s loose embrace so that they were face to face. She then leaned forward and licked the brunette’s chin before kissing it affectionately.

“What was your favorite decade?” Krista asked again as Chase lay her head on her shoulder.

“I liked the 20s,” Chase responded a little smile tugging at her lips. “And the 60s,” added a moment later after thinking about it.

“I can picture you in the twenties,” Krista said smiling. She had already kind of seen Chase in a bob over a year ago and the elder vampire did love to show off her legs and cleavage. Not that Krista was complaining about that in the least. She loved looking at Chase’s legs and cleavage. They were great. “I would’ve thought that the sixties would have annoyed you though.”

Chase was quite for a moment. In a way the sixties did annoy her, but flower children were easy prey and their blood was usually so laced with drugs that you got a pleasant little high if you fed off of them especially after they had just popped a pill or whatever their poison was. Once after attacking a group of young people in a city park one night, she had spent two days in a hallucinogenic haze and had a riveting conversation with a giant hamster in a top hat. The hippies were also really friendly which made hunting so much easier. She had actually taken to telling people that she was going to suck their blood and showed them her fangs, and they would giggle, mutter something like “trippy” and follow her dreamily wherever she took them.

She knew that Krista wouldn’t appreciate hearing that however, and she really didn’t want to fight with the brunette about it. Krista had not asked her about hunting or feeding in over a month, and she wasn’t going to bring it up if the brunette didn’t. There seemed to be some kind of unspoken agreement not to bring it up, like if they didn’t talk about it then the issues didn’t exist, and she was more than happy to go on that way if it kept Krista happy.

“It did sometimes,” Chase said finally tightening her hold on Krista’s waist. “But it was a time of freedom and experimentation. I’d lived through two world wars, the great depression and the red scare. The sixties weren’t free of strife, but among the youth there was a release of tension that had been building for decades. People were dedicated to the idea of fun and freedom and finding your bliss. They sought pleasure and followed their instincts and celebrated love instead of hate. I liked that, I understood that philosophy. I like love,” Chase continued rubbing her body against Krista’s as she said the last part.

“Uh huh,” Krista purred enjoying Chase’s full body caress as she thought about the blonde’s answer, trying to imagine Chase frolicking in the mud at Woodstock, or going to bonfires at the beach at night.

“What?” Chase asked wearily as she heard Krista begin to chuckle, wondering what strange thought had amused the younger vampire this time. Krista often got the giggles about the strangest things.

“I just got an image of you in bell-bottoms and a peasant top with a flower in your hair and stars painted on your face at a group sing-a-long in my head,” Krista replied still laughing a little. “Only you had the surliest expression on your face, like you couldn’t believe that you had been reduced to that,” Krista went on beginning to laugh anew. It was just about the most adorable mental image ever.

“Fashion nightmare,” Chase responded shaking her head a little. She had been pretty horrified the first time she’d seen herself in a full hippie get up. She consoled herself by repeating that it was necessary to dress up when going out for dinner. “Even the eighties were better.”

“I bet you loved the big hair and over the top glamour,” Krista teased, she could see Chase in the eighties, hair teased to the max, red lip stick painted on her lips, in a low cut sparkly red dress with a slit up the sides. She wasn’t a huge fan of eighties fashion but she knew instinctively that Chase would have loved the brash fabulousness of the decade, and would have strutted around arrogant and bitchy as could be because she knew she looked good.

“You’re beginning to know me entirely too well,” Chase said playfully though there was an undercurrent of something like surprise and apprehension in her voice as well.

“You’re still an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in a Chinese finger puzzle,” Krista said amicably knowing that Chase did enjoy having a mystique. It was true that she had gotten a much better sense of the blonde over the past few months, but she hadn’t even come close to understanding Chase. There was still so much about the blonde that she didn’t know that she wanted to find out.

“You’re sweet,” Chase said knowing that Krista was humoring her. She meant it though, Krista was sweet, she was a fundamentally decent person and Chase hadn’t met nearly enough of those in her very long life.

“Sweet on you,” Krista replied laughing as Chase swatted at her backside in response, reaching behind her to grasp the blonde’s hand and bringing it up to her mouth to kiss the back of it before nipping at the tips of Chase’s fingertips.

When she released Chase’s hand, Chase stared at her seriously for a long moment and then dipped her head forward and kissed her, but it wasn’t a kiss like their usual kisses. This one was softer, and longer and more intense. They had been sharing more and more kisses and touches and looks like that were like that and it spooked Krista slightly. She knew that it spooked Chase as well, because afterwards they could never quite meet each others eyes for a few moments but at the same time they always held on to each more tightly afterwards.

“Take me out for dinner,” Krista said when Chase pulled away from her lips and put her head back on her shoulder hugging her body to hers.

“Fancy or folksy?” Chase asked. She hoped it was fancy. She did like to dress up.

“Fancy,” Krista replied as Chase’s hand played against her stomach. She knew that Chase liked to dress up.

“I want to do your hair,” Chase mumbled against Krista’s neck.

“Fine,” Krista muttered softly tilting her head back giving Chase better access to her neck. It had annoyed her endlessly back at Marcus’ when Chase would treat her like a living doll and would try to dress her and fix her hair. It had felt territorial at the time like Chase was trying to prove to her who had the power in their relationship. She had also suspected that it had been an excuse for the blonde to touch her inappropriately and see her in various states of undress. Now, however, she found it kind of charming. It was sweeter and more playful that it had been in the past, and it made Chase happy. The blonde would smile and talk cheerfully as she worked and that made Krista happy. If Chase had been born sixty years after she actually was, Krista could have easily pictured her wanting to go to beauty school. She didn’t like to really encourage the blonde too much though lest she never be allowed to pick out an outfit for herself again, but as an occasional treat it was nice.

“Good,” Chase murmured.

“Perfect,” Krista replied not trying to hide her smile.

“Excellent,” Chase shot back.

“Great,” Krista continued playing along.

“Wonderful,” Chase teased back.

Krista laughed and rolled them over so that she was spooning Chase’s back. “Go to sleep.”

“You just couldn’t think of another one,” Chase responded knowingly though she actually was getting tired.

“Sleep,” Krista intoned deeply.

“Sore loser,” Chase murmured.

“You’re fixing to sleep on the couch,” Krista said pointing to the couch in question though her words lost some sway when she kissed the back of Chase’s neck.

“It’s my room,” Chase responded snuggling back into Krista’s embrace.

“Oh yeah,” Krista mumbled into Chase’s hair. “I guess you can stay in the bed then.”

“How considerate of you,” Chase mumbled though a smile touched her lips before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Month Later**

Krista looked down at the cards in her hand, her brows knitting together in displeasure before she blew out a puff of air and tossed them down on the table with a dissatisfied growl.

“I don’t like this game, let’s play poker,” she grumbled looking across the small coffee table at Sabine.

“You don’t like it because you’re losing … badly,” Sabine said smirking at Krista as the ex-soldier frowned deeply but reached to gather up the cards and shuffle them anyway.

“Whatever,” Krista responded as she started to deal out the cards. “It’s my first time.” She’d never played the game Basra before, but Sabine had used words like ‘opponent’ and ‘captured’ when describing the game to her and she thought she’d be a natural at it. She shouldn’t have been so cocky.

“Don’t feel bad,” Sabine responded looking over at Krista slyly. “I hear you’re a natural when it comes to other things.”

Krista rolled her eyes at the innuendo. Her fights with Chase in her room over a month before hadn’t gone unnoticed, nor had the fact that after them Chase was often in her room for an extended period of time. Gossip around the coven had them as lovers well in advance of the actual act. In fact, it was now believed that they had been together when they were with Marcus, which was why Chase had betrayed him in the first place. It was melodramatic and just plain wrong, but Krista had gotten bored with trying to set the record straight. The fact was she and Chase were lovers now, and if Sabine wanted to spread rumors about her being good in bed she wasn’t going to cry herself to sleep over it.

“Bring some of that over here,” Sabine called over her shoulder as Krista picked up her cards. Looking up she saw a group of men on the other side of the recreation room playing pool, a pitcher of blood resting on a nearby table.

“Get it yourself,” one of the guys called back.

Sabine bared her teeth and hissed at him.

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” one of the others piped up, giving Sabine an appraising look before grabbing a couple of unused glasses and the pitcher and walking over. Putting the glasses down on the edge of the table Sabine and Krista were using, filling them up before turning to gave Sabine another appreciative look and his eyes drifted over to Krista as if to do the same before he thought better of it and headed back over to his friends.

Krista shook her head before reaching for her glass and taking a sip. She’d gotten a lot of appraising looks when she first arrived at the coven, but since the rumors had started about her and Chase they had decreased, and once it was known for sure that she was “Chase’s girl” no one but the bravest souls looked at her in a way that could be described as chaste. As far as she knew Chase hadn’t even threatened anyone, though Krista supposed she didn’t need to. Everyone who had been with the coven for more than a couple of weeks knew that Chase was the kind of person to act as if she didn’t care if people were looking at her girl and then cut off a body part if she caught them doing it.

“Forbidden fruit,” Sabine whispered playfully as Krista put her glass down and they began to play again.

“She doesn’t own me,” Krista grumbled although she felt a familiar arousing and disturbing shiver of excitement run through her at the thought of being possessed by Chase. It was horribly un-feminist and the last vestiges of humanity that still resided within her balked at it, but the vampire part of her roared with approval, wanting to be tamed and possessed and do to the same.

Sabine nodded obviously humoring her. “Why don’t you tell her that now?”

“Tell me what?” Chase asked striding across the room, stopping behind the couch Krista was sitting on, placing her hands on the brunette’s shoulders as she gazed down at her, her eyes only leaving Krista’s momentarily to flicker over to the have empty glass resting in front of the brunette.

As much as she enjoyed the brunette feeding off of her, being Krista’s sole source of nourishment for over a month had begun to take its toll on her a few weeks after they became lovers. She’d been feeding twice as much as normal to try and keep up with the blood lost to Krista, but eventually her body began to rebel against the extreme treatment, and she had found herself completely exhausted and unable to get up one night. Marta had been called and an I.V. had been attached to her and she slept for two days straight. When she awoke Krista was crouched in the corner of the room shrouded in darkness watching over her bed, and when Chase had weakly called out to her had slowly crossed over to the bed and lay down beside the blonde. Once comfortably situated next to Chase, Krista had reached out and stroked Chase’s pale neck softly with her finger before whispering, “I did this to you, didn’t I?” before moving her mouth to Chase’s neck pressing a soft kiss to a patch of skin that was used to being abused by her fangs. The next day Krista had begun to drink from the supply of blood kept in the fridges.

“Nothing,” Krista replied staring at Sabine for a moment resisting the urge to tilt her head back so that Chase could kiss her. In her position sitting on the couch while Chase lorded over her it would just give Sabine ammunition to cock her eyebrow at her smugly and as much as Krista would have liked a kiss she was more concerned with protecting her honor.

“Must have been a riveting conversation,” Chase drawled pulling her hands off of Krista’s shoulders. “It’s time.”

Krista nodded and placed her cards back on the table with an apologetic shrug before standing up and very pointedly wrapping her arm around Chase’s waist possessively as she looked back at Sabine pointedly.

“Childish,” Chase murmured once they were in the hallway though she allowed Krista to keep her possessive hold on her.

“You’re only saying that because everyone thinks you’re the top,” Krista muttered darkly scowling a bit as they continued down the hallway.

Chase bit down on her bottom lip. She did love Krista’s surly expression, it made her just want to bite the brunette all over. “Why don’t you prove them wrong later?” the blonde suggested a second later glancing over at Krista, her expression mild though there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Krista smiled. Chase loved to take her own medicine.

When they first became lovers she had been kind of overwhelmed by it all and Chase had naturally taken control of the encounters. She had quickly acclimated to her new desires however and after a few times together had sought to take control. Chase had resisted her efforts at first, and they struggled with each other ferociously and even came to blows, but eventually she had managed to turn Chase over and immediately she had spread the blonde’s legs and plunged into her to claim her and let Chase know that she had lost. Chase tensed at the sudden intrusion, her body taunt under Krista’s and she had even seemed to stop breathing for a moment, and then a long content sigh was released from her throat and she spread her legs further apart before pushing her hips up and wiggling them slightly, offering herself up to Krista’s touch. Chase’s willing acquiescence made something sharp and hot flare inside of Krista and she felt herself clench strongly before she shoved her fingers, hard, into Chase again. She couldn’t remember everything that happened after that, her lust addled brain unable to store all of the information, but she remembered the sweet sound of damp skin smacking relentless and hard against each other, she remembered the feelings of Chase’s body limp and malleable in her arms as Chase allowed her do to whatever it was that she wanted, she remembered the excited sounds and dirty words of encouragement that Chase growled at her as she fucked her, and she remembered the taste of blood in her mouth and the slick warmth of it against her fingers.

Krista bit her lips as the memories flooded her, barely suppressing a moan. She had come so fucking hard that night that she had almost passed out and the mere memory of it made her feel like she could come again. She had just barely had enough energy to crawl into Chase’s waiting arms and burry her face in the blonde’s warm bosom as her body trembled with aftershocks and her mind pulsed white and hot with contentment and pleasure.

“Tell me why we have to conference with Saqqara, again?” Krista grumbled, not quite faking her displeasure, as they headed towards the conference room where at satellite conference with the House of Saqqara awaited them. Now that she had started to think about it, she had the strong desire to take Chase up on that offer right in the hallway.

“Because they are the tie breaking vote that decides whether Chthon gets to take a seat on the council of twelve once more,” Chase responded lightly knowing that Krista was fully aware why they needed to talk with Saqqara. “Bribes first, fun later,” Chase continued somewhat sadly. She really didn’t want to make a deal with the House of Saqqara to allow one of their purebloods to be the face of Chthon when the council was called to session, but the other Houses absolutely would not accept a turned-blood at their table, and if Chthon was to have any power and respect again they needed to be represented on the council, and they needed Saqqara for that. “Horny slut,” Chase added playfully a moment later pinching Krista’s ass.

Krista laughed and then mock bit at Chase.

Hopefully the bribing wouldn’t take to long.


	9. Chapter 9

**A Month Later**

Krista closed the door to her room leaning back against it, breathing deeply for a few seconds before walking away and collapsing onto her bed.

She had gotten so comfortable at the coven, so comfortable that she had almost forgotten.

She sighed and flung her arm over her face.

Her team had wanted to go drinking and had informed her that she was the leader and they wouldn’t go without her so she should come of her own will or they’d have to annoy her. Laughing Krista raised her arms in defeat and let them drag her out of the building and in search of cheap wings and beer.

It was good. It was fun. She hadn’t been out like that since returning from Iraq. It was nice talking about how they had taken care of the Armayans who had tried to raid one of their warehouses, she had laughed watching Marco’s impressions of an Armayan who had gotten his leg chopped off by one of his own men and had taken off hopping towards the door. It had been fun rounding up the humans that surrounded them and hustling them at darts, their superior sight and heightened reflexes making them preternaturally good at games that required hand eye coordination. Krista had had a drunken, boisterous good time and grinned happily as they staggered their way back home looking forward to finding her woman and having another drunken, boisterous good time, naked with Chase.

Her good mood faded when they ran into another group staggering home from a bar on a deserted street corner around 4 a.m., however. Her group was drunk and tired and not really looking for a fight, but when someone from her group bumped into someone from the other and words were exchanged a tussle ensued and one of the humans ended up bleeding on the ground.

Krista felt herself growl as the smell of flesh blood entered the air, her fangs distending automatically as she turned in the direction of the bleeding man on the ground and began to advance towards him. She got herself under control before more than that happened, however, but the rest of her team had no such inclination to stop and didn’t. Swiftly before she could utter a sound they dove on the man on the ground, the ones that couldn’t reach the body reaching for the others in the fallen man’s group mouths open, their fangs glittering in the moonlight.

Krista yelled at them to stop, she ordered them, and when that didn’t work she physically began to yank them off of the humans, standing in front them and striking any member of her team that tried to get past her until they finally calmed down and stopped trying to attack.

Once her team was under control Krista turned to see what the damage was, her eyes closing in despair at what she saw the scene in front of her. They had been bitten; all of the humans had been bitten. Two were bleeding rather profusely from the neck and were barely conscious while the other three were dazed and bruised and still lying on the ground, but they had all been bitten. They were all infected.

Marco had spoken then, they all knew her policy on not killing humans but these ones were infected now. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said that they needed to be drained. Krista shrugged his hand off. It was true and it pissed it off. She told him to take care of the bodies and walked away.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut underneath her arm. She thought of Chase and she wondered how the blonde would have handled the situation and knew immediately. Chase would have started the frenzy, she would have bitten first and released last. She remembered hunting with Chase almost two years before, the screams of her victim, her face covered with blood as she offered his neck up to Krista smiling.

Krista’s stomach rolled.

She hadn’t thought about Chase like that for a long time. She had forgotten, or maybe she had forced herself to forget what Chase was. She hadn’t seen Chase hunt since she had come to the coven, Chase hadn’t spoken of it to her, but they went for long stretches of time during the night without seeing each other and Chase could have been up to anything during those times. Chase knew how she felt, knew they would fight if she brought it up, and so Krista knew that she wouldn’t have mentioned it, especially since they became lovers. And she had never asked. She had seen Chase drinking from a glass those nights when she came to her room to feed her, and she had seen her doing it since then as well and she chose to believe that was the truth and didn’t think about it anymore.

But Chase was a killer. So was Sabine. So were all of the people that surrounded her. The people she played poker with, the people that she had gone drinking with, all of them killers. She lived in a house of death, and for months she had stuck her fingers in her ear and gone ‘la la la la la’ because she didn’t want to know, she didn’t want to face it. She had a home again and a unit and a lover. They were her friends, she could think of them that way now, they were her team … and Chase was, Chase was so much more. And she wanted to believe it; she wanted it to be real and sterile. She wanted to believe that they all drank from blood bags in the fridge downstairs and that when they went on missions to kill vampires that they did it to save humans and the day instead of to further Chase’s political agenda.

But they weren’t. They weren’t heroes. They weren’t serving the public good to serve the public good, they were doing it to serve themselves. And her team didn’t refrain from killing because they were morally against it, they refrained because she ordered them to. They were just humoring her, she was just humoring herself.

The door to her room burst open.

Krista looked over to see Chase standing in front of her.

“They had to finish them. You know that,” Chase said immediately upon entering as she looked down at Krista, an inscrutable look on her face before she moved to sit beside Krista on the bed. She hadn’t sat on this bed in a while. Her room was bigger than Krista’s and they had begun to spend their days there after the first couple of times in Krista’s room.

“Not the point,” Krista whispered her voice pained as she leaned away from Chase when the blonde tried to touch her.

“Krista,” Chase said her voice dropping with displeasure as Krista moved away from her. It had been a very long time since Krista had shied away from her touch. It hurt her to have the brunette pull away from her after all of this time.

“Do you still hunt?” Krista asked shifting further away from Chase on the bed to make sure the blonde wouldn’t touch her. It distracted her when Chase was too close to her and she needed to hear Chase’s answer. She needed to have this conversation.

“You’re upset about what happened,” Chase began knowing that she was in very dangerous territory with the younger vampire. She had known that this would come up eventually, she had hoped it wouldn’t until Krista’s tastes had changed, but she had known that she likely didn’t have that long. “Let me help you,” Chase continued shifting closer to Krista on the bed, her movement insistent, not letting Krista move away from her until the brunette finally relented. Chase relaxed slightly when the brunette let her draw her into a hug.

Krista buried her face in Chase’s hair breathing in deeply before pulling back.

“Do you still hunt?” she asked again, the blonde’s diversion tactic making her more anxious since it seemed to confirmed what she feared to be Chase’s response.

“Of course,” Chase replied sighing slightly before meeting Krista’s eyes. “I’m a vampire, Krista. It’s what we do.”

Krista closed her eyes and leaned her back against the wall, taking a deep breath.

“You already knew I did,” Chase said softly, moving to sit beside Krista, her hand moving to rest on the brunette’s waist. “It’s why you never asked,” Chase continued bending forward to place a soft kiss on Krista’s throat. “Don’t be like this,” she went on quietly shifting onto Krista so that she was straddling her waist. “We’ll go take a nice warm shower,” Chase said rubbing Krista’s arms gently. “We’ll go to bed, and it will be alright when the sun goes down,” she continued bending down to kiss Krista’s cheek before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

Krista was still under Chase allowing the blonde to kiss and caress her gently before she suddenly reached out grasped Chase firmly by the shoulders.

It was a mistake for her to have left her hotel room all those months ago with Chase. She never should have come to the coven. She never should have thought that she could live with these people. It was foolish, so very, very foolish. She could see that now. She never should have come. But she did.

And now …

Krista looked up into Chase’s face. The blonde wasn’t scared of her but she did look apprehensive, her fine, beautiful features revealing a tension that usually wasn’t present, her eyes dark and thoughtful as if her brain were running through a thousand different calculations.

She wanted to kiss Chase as she looked at her. She wanted to take that beautiful face into her hands and bring her lips against Chase’s. She wanted to lay her down on the bed and kiss a trail down her throat and stomach. She wanted to burry her face in Chase’s neck and breathe in her scent and lose herself in the magic of Chase’s touch. She wanted to lie naked and shivering with Chase in her arms and feel the blonde whisper into her ear and pet her hair softly as she smiled against her skin.

But how could she? How could she want these things with Chase when Chase killed? When Chase felt absolutely no remorse for it? Chase was the anti-thesis of everything she used to believe in yet had somehow become the definition of everything she now needed.

The thought came to Krista that she should leave. She should leave the coven and Chase and the death behind her. She should move into the mountains somewhere alone, separate from humanity, starving on animal blood, miserable, alone, pathetic and of absolutely no threat to anyone. The idea didn’t even horrify her. There was an attraction in the idea of suffering for her sins. But then she thought of Chase, and not being able to see her, not being able to touch her or talk to her and suddenly the idea of the mountains became unbearable.

She needed Chase. She …

“Don’t hunt anymore,” Krista said finally, her voice desperate and panicked. “Just don’t, just use the fridge,” Krista continued looking up into Chase’s face. “Please. For me. Please, Chase.”

Chase blinked, lifting her hand up to Krista’s face, cupping it tenderly.

“Krista,” she breathed out softly shaking her head. Didn’t she see that it didn’t make a difference whether she stopped hunting or not. Even if she did the others would continue to. Krista would still be living with, friends with and working with predators. She could try to stop hunting, she could drink from the fridge, but it wouldn’t solve the problem. In another month, or two months, or three months when Krista witnessed the others being what they were she would descend into despair again, and then it would be ‘tell everyone to drink from the fridge, ban hunting’ and it would never work. She would try to quit hunting; she could do that for Krista, but the others never would, she would lose the coven if she tried to make them. “It won’t make a difference,” Chase continued softly. “Even if I try to stop, it’s not going to change what we are. Besides,” Chase went on sighing softly, reaching down to take Krista’s hand, “I’m not sure that I could.”

“You could,” Krista said taking Chase’s hand. “You can control it.”

“Maybe for a while,” Chase conceded, “but it’s in me now. It’s easier for you since you’ve never hunted for food. But Krista, if I said to you now ‘never drink from my neck again’, could you do it?” Chase asked softly. “Maybe you could for a few weeks, or a few months, but one day, I’d be in your arms and you’d bite Krista, not because you wanted to but because it’s your instinct to, and you can only fight instinct for so long.”

Krista was quiet for a long time, simply leaning into Chase’s touch. Drinking from Chase was one of the most exquisite things she had experienced in life. The thought of not being able to sink her fangs into Chase and feel her blood trickling down into her mouth as Chase moaned and stroked her hair was almost enough to bring tears to Krista’s eyes. She could try not to drink from Chase, but it was so tempting. Sometimes when they were together, she would tell herself that she wouldn’t, but then there would be a smooth patch of skin presented to her and she just couldn’t help herself.

“You make it sound like an addiction,” Krista breathed out as Chase stroked some hair off of her face.

“Not an addiction. A biological imperative,” Chase replied gently stroking Krista.

“Leichen,” Krista began. She had stayed away from Leichen after leaving Blade because she had been blacklisted by the other Houses, but with Chthon gaining some sway again, and her being back with the House she was sure that the ban on her could be lifted.

“Have you tasted that stuff?” Chase asked wrinkling her nose. “It’s absolutely horrendous and you need to drink three times as much of it as the original recipe,” Chase continued. “It’s entirely too disgusting Krista, it’s just simply to revolting to work for long.”

“The Leichen’s manage to do it,” Krista brought up reasonably. The Leichen’s described blood with as much distaste as Chase described what they drank. Maybe it was just an acquired taste.

“The House of Leichen is made up of strays,” Chase began. “It’s the last hope for some of the most perverted, degenerate, sadistic, sociopathic vampires in creation. When a vampire makes so many transgressions that their own people decide that they need to be ashed for public safety they run to the House of Leichen. They do it because they must. They do it because they know that death awaits them if they fall back into their old patterns,” Chase continued. “They do it because they’re scared of themselves. I’m not. And most of us aren’t,” Chase finished not voicing the thought in her head that Krista might just be able to tolerate Leichen and its swill. The brunette had already shown great resolve in not hunting even though she had been feeding regularly and she might just be able to last with Leichen. However Chase knew that she never could. She wouldn’t be able to deal with their sterility, and their horrible cloned blood and their sanctimonious attitudes, and she certainly couldn’t handle being around Frederick all the time. If Krista left for Leichen she couldn’t go with her, and the thought of that was just too horrible for her to contemplate. She had gotten quite attached to Krista during the past few months and she preferred to keep her.

Krista shuddered at the thought of vampires so exponentially evil that Chase could refer to them with disdain.

“Is that why Frederick joined them?” Krista asked not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer. It had become clear to her from her time at Marcus’ coven that Frederick had not been a good husband, and from comments Chase had made back then and since they were reunited she was certain that a fair amount of abuse had taken place during their marriage. She had wondered, after meeting Frederick, how he had changed from the man Chase had been married to into the seemingly decent man she had met. The idea that it was because he was so out of control that he had been put on a death list made her feel ill, because if he was that cruel in general she couldn’t imagine what hell Chase had gone through with him.

“He wasn’t quite as bad as some there,” Chase responded her eyes drifting away from Krista’s, her voice barely a whisper. “But he was bad enough that it was his last hope.”

“When you were married,” Krista began, her voice cracking a little as she spoke. “When you were married, what did … what did he …” Krista continued until Chase placed a finger over her lips. Krista met Chase’s eyes then, and what she saw there tore her heart in two. Chase’s eyes were closed, her lips pressed together in a tight line as she shook her head from side to side as if it was inconceivable for her to respond to Krista’s attempted question.

“I’ll kill him,” Krista growled, her voice soft but menacing as her fangs showed. “I’ll kill him,” she repeated harshly.

Chase closed her eyes blinking back the wetness forming there before leaning forward and bringing their lips together in a tender kiss that tasted of tears.

“You’re sweet,” Chase whispered softly as she pulled away from Krista’s lips before leaning back in to kiss her one more time. She doubted that Krista would ever actually kill Frederick the way he was now, but the fact that she was moved enough to say so at the thought of what had been done to her in the past touched her more deeply had she knew how to express.

“Sweet on you,” Krista mumbled against Chase’s lips, recalling a previous conversation they had had before she pulled back to rub the blonde’s nose with her own, resting her head on Chase’s shoulder a moment later.

“So,” Chase said softly, a touch of apprehension in her voice. “Does that mean that you don’t think I’m a monster?” Chase asked, her nose buried in Krista’s hair as she spoke, her eyes closing as she felt the brunette tense against her before pulling her head away from her shoulder.

Krista gazed at Chase for a long moment before she responded. There was a time only months ago when she would have snorted at the blonde’s statement and told Chase that she was the thing nightmares were made of. Things were different now though, she knew things; she felt things that wouldn’t let her see Chase in black and white terms like that anymore. She didn’t believe that Chase was a monster, but the blonde wasn’t an angel either. The problem was that she didn’t know what Chase was, and she was scared of what her feelings for the blonde made her.

“I don’t think you’re a monster,” Krista breathed out softly her eyes drifting away from Chase’s. “I just … I’ve dedicated my life to protecting people and, and I can’t let go of that, I can’t think of them as cattle, Chase. I mean, we were them,” Krista went on her eyes drifting up to look at Chase for a moment before skittering away again. “I’m sitting here with you in my lap, and I know your scent, and your taste. I’ve kissed every part of your body down to the tips of your toes, and when I think about losing you, about not seeing you, not being able to touch you, I … ache inside,” Krista revealed somewhat uncomfortably, her voice tight as she blinked trying to hold back tears. “But two years ago, if you had passed me on the street you would’ve killed me without a second thought, you tried to. And I can’t, I can’t reconcile the idea that someone who could potentially be my lover could also be lunch just because they aren’t infected with some fucking virus,” she finished a chocked laugh coming from her before she shook her head, and then stared down at her comforter.

Chase was silent as Krista stopped speaking, staring down at the brunette for a moment before swinging her legs over the younger vampire and moving to take a seat next to her on the bed. She had thoughts like the ones Krista was voicing a long, long time ago during the day as she slept. Awake, and conscious they hadn’t plagued her as they plagued Krista, but when asleep, when her unconscious and still largely human mind was given a chance to roam she had been tortured with horrible nightmares of what she had done and what she was capable of doing.

“He has no idea how much damage he’s done,” Chase breathed out softly turning her head to look at Krista. “Blade and his bloody poison, trying to keep you something you no longer were. When the change comes over someone, it should sweep over them, consuming them entirely. Not just changing their body, but their mind as well, both coming together in a perfect harmony changing you into something different, something more … the perfect predator,” Chase went on sighing deeply. “You started that change, I remember seeing it that first night we spent out on the town,” she continued smiling softly at the memory. “And then Blade came,” Chase voiced her tone hardening as she spoke. “He fractured you, stopped your mind and body from coming together. A vampire who still thinks and feels like a human. He made you a female version of himself with an allergy to the sun.” Chase turned to look at Krista again, her hand reaching out, resting on the brunette’s thigh. “The serum’s gone now, but you’re still holding on. You’re still fractured. You need to allow yourself to … merge. You’ve already started Krista,” Chase said running her hand up Krista’s thigh until she could grasp the brunette’s hand. “You have friends, Sabine, Macro, people you care about, people who care about you. You have me, someone who loves you.”

Krista looked over at Chase sharply as the blonde spoke, but Chase continued before she could speak.

“It’s not such a terrible life, is it?” Chase asked shifting closer to Krista, placing a delicate kiss on her neck. “Stop fighting, Krista. You’re not one of them anymore, you need to let go of the idea that you are. Just, relax,” she went on before pressing her lips against Krista’s, feeling the brunette sigh against her lips before she opened her mouth and allowed Chase’s tongue to enter her, the younger vampire’s hand coming up to stroke Chase’s face as they kissed.

“I don’t know, Chase,” Krista whispered softly when the blonde pulled away from her mouth. “I don’t know how. I don’t know if I should. I just don’t know if I can. I just don’t know.”

Chase pulled Krista into her arms and carefully maneuvered them up the bed before throwing the comforter over their limbs and settling down with the brunette, her hand gently stroking Krista’s back as they lay together in the silence.

She didn’t know either.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Next Day**

Chase turned her head to the side, glancing out of the small oval shaped window of the private plane before growling softly and turning away continuing to pace near the pilot’s cabin. Saqqara had sent the plane early that night with orders to get on-board. They had moved up the meeting and Chase didn’t like it. What she liked even less was that she had no choice but to do what they wanted. It was a power play and as usual she was the one that had to bend over.

She should have been dedicating the flight to trying to figure out what they were up to, she should have been trying to plan a back up strategy or three that she could turn to if the carpet was ripped out from underneath her during this meeting, but she couldn’t concentrate on the problems with Saqqara because her mind kept drifting to the situation with Krista.

When the call had come in that she needed to fly to Miami she had cautiously inquired if Krista would be joining her. When the brunette had agreed, Chase had taken it as a good sign that things were going to be okay between them despite Krista’s unease the night before. However Krista had been painfully silent for most of the ride to the airport and once they had boarded the plane she had segregated herself in the far corner and had done nothing but silently watch Chase for the next hour and a half.

Chase kicked the side of one of the seats in front of her in frustration, her hair falling in front of her face at the angry motion. She kicked it again, and again with increasingly ferocity and then she drew her arm back and punched the wall of the plane, again and again until a small dent appeared.

“Fucking say something!” Chase yelled finally spinning around to face Krista unable to handle the silence and the observation anymore.

“I wouldn’t punch that anymore. Not even one of us could survive a fall from this height,” Krista replied softly her eyes on Chase, not that they had been anywhere else for the entire flight.

“Oh, I know about how bothersome falls can be,” Chase responded her eyes burning into Krista’s as she flopped down into the seat she had been kicking a few seconds ago. The response was mean and that’s what she wanted.

Krista glanced away from Chase briefly after the blonde spoke.

“I’m not trying to provoke you,” Krista said finally sighing softly.

“You’ve never really needed to try, have you?” Chase responded but her tone wasn’t as mean as it had been before. She didn’t sound pleased, or happy, or even particularly playful but she wasn’t trying to upset Krista with the comment either.

“Are you saying you’re easily provoked?” Krista asked looking over at Chase. Chase was extremely mercurial but she would never admit to it.

“No, I’m saying you’re highly irritating,” Chase responded though her lips did twitch slightly as she spoke. “And frustrating, and annoying, and infuriating, and vexing, and …”

“Enough about me,” Krista said holding up her hand though she wasn’t particularly troubled by Chase’s rant. There was an undercurrent of affection to it that Chase wasn’t quite able to remove from her voice, and Krista found herself responding despite her dark mood. “You know how humble I am, you’re embarrassing me.”

Chase stared at Krista for a moment, a small smile coming to her lips as she gazed at the brunette before she closed her eyes. When she opened them again her gaze closed off and intense.

“You can’t keep sitting there staring at me,” Chase said finally shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “Whatever it is you’re thinking just say it.”

Krista was silent for a moment, her eyes falling down to her lap as she considered whether or not it would be a good idea to just say what she was thinking. Chase was in a horrible mood and she was in a rather ill temper herself which meant things could get ugly. Still, Chase was right, she couldn’t keep up the silent treatment forever and there was likely not going to be a ‘good’ time as such to talk about it and the door was open now.

“How do you choose?” Krista asked her eyes returning to Chase. “Who to hunt,” she added a moment later when Chase simply stared at her long and hard.

“It’s a matter of convenience mostly,” Chase replied finally her tone steady though there was a touch of resentment in her voice. She didn’t want to be having this conversation, she knew that it wouldn’t end well, but she also knew that she had no choice. Krista wouldn’t let it drop, and even if they didn’t speak of it Krista would still be obsessing about it staring at her accusingly from dark corners until they addressed it. “Though I do have standards,” Chase continued slumping back in her seat resigning herself to the idea of once again bending over for someone else.

“Standards?” Krista asked quirking an eyebrow, her voice rising as if she couldn’t understand the concept of how it was possible to have standards when it came to eating people.

“No children,” Chase said turning her eyes away from Krista scanning the cabin. “The blood hasn’t matured yet, it’s like drinking grape juice when you really yearn for Cabernet,” she continued her tone blasé as she gazed out the window opposite her. That wasn’t true of course, young blood was actually considered to be a delicacy, but it was one that was usually only enjoyed by the purebloods. Like most turned bloods there was enough of her old self still buried inside that she couldn’t stomach the idea of feeding off of a child. “No sick,” Chase continued, “no elderly and no disabled,” she went on still refusing to meet Krista’s eyes. “There’s no challenge you understand, they’re simply not worth the effort. You could as well just use a blood bag since they’re just as easy to procure and tend to smell better.”

“Everyone else is fair game?” Krista asked softly. She could see the tension in Chase’s body and knew the blonde didn’t want to be having this conversation. She didn’t really want to be having it either but it had to be done. Uncomfortable as it was for both of them. “Mothers, fathers, daughters …” Krista continued only to be interrupted by Chase’s voice.

“Everyone has a mother and a father, lots have sons and daughters, husbands, wives, significant others, friends, people who love them and will miss them. There are some, but not many who will die without someone missing them,” Chase cut in before Krista could finish, still staring out of the window as she spoke. “Does a mother deserve to live more than a newly wed? Do women deserve to live more then men? Should I take illegal immigrants over legal citizens or the middle-aged over college students? They’re pointless debates. Do you think lions pick which zebras to eat based on personality? I don’t know who those people are, I don’t know their lives and if I did it wouldn’t matter. You pick an acceptable target, you hunt, you feed, and you walk away,” Chase continued sighing heavily before tilting her head up to glance at the ceiling of the plane. “I’m not a judge, Krista. I’m not some divine tool of retribution,” she continued lowering her gaze and finally angling her head towards the brunette. “I’m hungry.”

Krista held Chase’s gaze for a moment and then turned her head to the side and curled away from the blonde. She made it all sound so pragmatic, like it was no different than going into a grocery store and picking out the ripest banana. She wasn’t sure what she had wanted to hear from Chase, what the blonde could have said to make her feel better, or if it was even possible. She just knew that she hadn’t gotten whatever elusive thing it was that she had been seeking out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Six Hours Later**

Krista ran an agitated hand through her hair as she approached the room she and Chase had been shown to at the Saqqara villa. She had opted out of attending the meeting with the Saqqara purebloods with Chase after they had dropped their luggage off in the room. She knew that Chase needed to be in top form while dealing with them, and she was aware of the fact that she was, at the moment, a source of supreme irritation and distraction to the blonde. Besides, she needed some time on her own to think about what was happening and to try and figure out what she was feeling without Chase sitting or pacing or glaring a few meters away from her.

So, as Chase had gone to see the purebloods Krista had accepted one of the cars that was offered to them and had the driver take her into the city, where she had wandered for hours, allowing the smells, sounds and lights to wash over her and lull her into a mindless calm for a little while.

She hadn’t really resolved anything on her little outing, but she was sure that the meeting with the purebloods was over and that Chase would need her in one capacity or another. However things might turn out, she was at the moment still Chase’s second in command and her lover, and though she needed a little space she had no intention of forcing the blonde to fend for herself.

\---

Chase picked up the vase and flung it across the room with all of her might.

“Lying, fucking double crossing bastards!” Chase raged as she spun on her booted heel and picked up a gold candlestick holder, raising it above her head and bringing it down against the wall, again and again, and again until she had knocked a hole the size of the television set into it.

“Fuck you!” Chase screamed fangs barred as she turned towards the door throwing the candlestick holder at it, before turning around and yanking the comforter off of the bed and throwing it to the ground before kicking it, and then moving over to the desk sweeping everything off of it, and kicking the chair in front of it across the room as her hand reached for the handle of a nearby drawer, pulling it out of the cradle and flinging it across the room.

For fucking months she had been funneling those piss drinking cunts money and using her teams and her resources to take care of problems for them to build up trust and a spirit of co-operation between them. But the time for favors was supposed to have been coming to an end, and Saqqara was finally supposed to live up to its end of the deal. When she had been summoned to see them early her asshole had quivered knowing that it was almost certain she was going to get fucked over, but going into the meeting and hearing them demand one more job from her before they would consider moving on to the next part of their deal filled her with a deep rage so strong that she even surprised herself.

She knew the road to restoring Chthon would be difficult. She knew that she was going to have to do a lot of things that she would rather not have done, and she knew that she was going to have to kiss a lot of ass that she would have rather kicked. And she had been doing it because it was necessary, she had been doing it because she saw an end in sight because she believed that one day soon her dues would be paid, the contract would be signed and they could just fucking get on with it.

But standing there in that room, watching those well-dressed bastards lounge in their seats as they spoke to her like a goddamn servant she realized that’s exactly what she was, and what she was always going to be. She was at their mercy, and she would always be at their mercy. What power she currently held, and may gain in the future was at their discretion. And for a moment she hated herself for her ambition because it had led her to betray Marcus and ruin his plans to annihilate every pureblood, and at that moment there was nothing that she wanted more to see all of those self-important windbags die horribly.

Standing there in front of them she truly comprehended for the first time that with all of their purebloods gone, that Chthon would never be more than an extremely well funded syndicate and that they would always be at the mercy of the other Houses.

Standing there in front of them she knew she would never be in the inner-circle, just eternally outside, guarding it, like a good little dog.

\---

Krista dodged the side quickly blinking as a lamp flew past her head and crashed against the wall opposite the door to their room.

“Were you aiming at me?” Krista asked moving inside the room, kicking the door shut behind her uncomfortable taking her eyes off of Chase until she got an answer.

“No,” Chase responded kicking at the broken remnants of a small garbage basket morosely.

“What happened?” Krista asked moving further into the room now that Chase had at least stopped throwing things.

“Nothing,” Chase hissed viciously. “Absolutely nothing. Everything is just going to go on like it was before. They never,” she continued kicking hard at the garbage basket, “had any intention of following through with the plan as discussed. Chthon,” she continued her eyes scanning the room as if looking for something else to destroy, “is dead. It died with Marcus and the destruction of the formula for the pureblood final solution,” Chase finished her body slumping, almost seeming to collapse in on itself as she couldn’t find anything to crush within reach.

“You still have the coven, and the money. Even if the purebloods won’t officially recognize it, Chthon still exists and you’re in charge,” Krista responded closing the small bit a space between herself and Chase, reaching out for the blonde’s face and grasping it between her hands. “You don’t need them.” Chase growled low in her throat in response and shifted her gaze away from Krista. “Why is it so important to you to have their blessing?” Krista asked a few seconds later. “What do really you want?”

“Power,” Chase growled her lips curling back as she spoke.

“You have power,” Krista responded holding Chase’s gaze. “It’s something else.”

“Position,” Chase growled ripping her head out of Krista’s hands. “Respect. I want to sit at the table, not to kneel beside it,” she continued running a hand through her hair. “I’m just a well armed, well financed thug!” Chase practically screamed manic as she began to pace. “Everything I do is at their discretion; I’m still just a cog.”

“You’re not a cog,” Krista responded her lip twitching a little though she beat down the urge to smile at Chase’s temper tantrum. Although the blonde’s reaction seemed overblown to her, she could see that Chase was genuinely distressed over the events of the meeting and she wouldn’t make light of that.

“You,” Chase started stepping back from Krista, knowing that she was being placated and hating it. “You have no idea what it is to be powerless. To be … owned,” she continued looking away from Krista. “One hundred and fucking twenty-six years Krista and only number two,” Chase raged spinning around to face the brunette once again. “And even then I was still his goddamn blood barista!”

Despite all the time that she had worked for him, and all that she had done for him, Marcus was still the one to decide what she did, what she was allowed to know about the plans, who she would work with, and in the end who she could fuck. She was number two, but it was a distant second place, barely above the rest of the pack and she felt it.

“I was never this, or never that,” Chase continued waving her hand from side to side. “But this was supposed to end that, this was supposed to be freedom. But I’m still ‘not’. I’m not a pureblood, I never will be … never free,” Chase went on squeezing her eyes shut as if her words were causing her physical pain. “I’m going to be someone’s bitch for eternity.”

“You,” Krista said her gaze intense and her words sharp. “Are no one’s bitch,” she continued passionately. “You’ve done more for yourself then the purebloods could ever dream of accomplishing on their own. They need you, Chase. They’re pompous and exclusionary because it’s all that they have,” she continued reaching out for Chase again, taking her hand in her own. “They won’t let you join the Country Club, so what? Fuck them. Build your own, build it better, charge them triple when they want to join,” Krista continued brushing her thumb over Chase’s cheek. “Or walk away,” she went on her voice dropping to a whisper as she swayed towards Chase, resting her forehead against the blondes. “The council, inter-house politics, networking, the glass ceiling, just give it the finger and walk away. We could move; you could open a store or a salon and dress up thousands of people, I could become a private detective with an affinity for the night,” Krista continued smiling a little, becoming a little excited as she spoke. “We can raid blood banks together on weekends, and use our military tactics to dominate at paintball. Just you and me, doing whatever we want, no purebloods, no orders, just life and whatever we want to do with ours.”

Chase stared at Krista for a long moment unable to determine whether the brunette was joking or not, and how she felt about it if she wasn’t. However, before the elder vampire was forced to formulate a response there was a tentative knock on the door – the debris outside of the room no doubt inspiring caution.

“What?” Chase yelled out peevishly, though there was actually a part of her that was somewhat relieved.

“The rest of the team just arrived,” a man dressed all in black said as he stepped into the room. He was one of Chase’s people, David. His team had been in Louisiana repossessing some possessions of Charlotte’s for the coven war chest and Chase had called him telling them all to get the team to Miami before she and Krista had left Toronto anticipating that she might need the support.

“We’ll be down in a minute to brief you,” Chase responded before turning away from him.

“Team?” Krista asked when David was out of the room.

“Yeah,” Chase responded her face darkening as she stepped back from Krista. “This bitch has at least one more Frisbee to fetch,” she continued moving towards their luggage and unzipping it to take out their black strike team uniforms. The luggage had been thrown around the room as well, but it had fared much better than many other objects Chase had taken her rage out on.

Krista reached out catching the pair of black pants Chase tossed over her shoulder. She wanted to finish the conversation they had been having, but she knew with a team waiting outside to go on assignment that there was no way they would be able to finish it at the moment.

Krista sighed and began to change. Maybe it was better that they continue the conversation later. Chase was tense and emotional at the moment and though she had calmed down a bit at the end, it might be good for the blonde to do a little violence and let off a little steam.

In any case, Krista thought as she pulled her blank turtle neck over her head, she could certainly do with a little stress relief.


	12. Chapter 12

**Later That Night**

Chase was the first out of the procession of black SUVs that pulled up to the nondescript warehouse on the docks. The purebloods had told her that merchandise of theirs had been stolen by the Armayans and was being held at the location they had just arrived at. Her mission was to retrieve the merchandise and return it to Saqqara.

Chase stared at the building for a long moment as the rest of her team gathered around her, her mind on Krista’s words before she had gotten the call that the team had arrived. There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to say ‘fuck it’ and walk away from the warehouse, away from Saqqara and never look back. But if she did that, everything she had worked for all those long years and in the past few months would have been for nothing. And the idea of nothingness was one that she couldn’t stand.

“You have your orders,” Chase growled a moment later pulling her cap on her head before motioning for the team to move out.

\----

The Armayans weren’t expecting a raid and surprising them was easy. Within ten minutes of arriving on the scene Chase and her team had the warehouse secured. A warehouse which Chase could now see housed a surprisingly swanky feeding-house for the vampire elite.

“Oh god.”

Chase didn’t need to turn her head to know that the faint whisper came from Krista. The truth was that she wasn’t particularly in love with what she saw either now that it was clear what Saqqara’s merchandise was.

“Ash the Armayans,” Chase commanded her eyes still surveying the scene around her. “And secure a service fee from the ‘customers’.”

After she spoke her team broke out into a flurry of activity around her, all except for Krista who remained standing slightly behind her, her horrified eyes still taking in their surroundings.

Her motionlessness didn’t last for long however, and as the team began to ash the Armayan’s, Krista sprung forward moving towards the bed closet to her where a half-drained girl lay barely breathing.

And she was a girl. No more than 12 or 13 years old from the looks of her. None of the girls or boys in the warehouse seemed to be much older than that. From what she could see Chase guessed the oldest was around 16 and the youngest 9 or 10 years of age.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chase asked a moment later following Krista, reaching out for her, yanking the brunette back as she tried to release the ties holding the girl.

Krista turned to look at Chase, her eyes drilling into the blonde. “You can’t seriously be thinking about turning them over. They’re just kids Chase!”

Chase held on to Krista, her eyes traveling between her lover and the dying girl.

“I’m not bloody blind, I can see that,” Chase said tersely a moment later, her body tense. “But if I don’t turn them over to Saqqara …”

“Then what?” Krista breathed out venomously pulling herself out of Chase’s grasp. “You might actually get the chance to think for yourself?” the brunette practically hissed at Chase. “You told me, you said ‘no children’,” Krista went on. “You said you didn’t want to be their bitch, well here it is,” she continued. “This is it, this is the moment. Bend over and give up one of the only principles you have left, or decide what to do for yourself.”

Chase stared at Krista for a long moment before finally angling her head to the side again, looking at the children that populated the warehouse, her eyes closing a moment later as she turned her head. Behind her eyes she was tortured with the memory of a blonde toddler being yanked up by the arm, Fredericks form looming above the small child dark, godlike, and demonic, his fangs glittering in the moonlight as his eyes glowed.

“If I let them go, that’s it,” Chase said her eyes locking on Krista’s once more, her voice strangely calm. “I won’t be able to go back. They’ll crush the coven just to get to me. I’ll be alone.”

Krista shook her head slowly. “You won’t be alone,” she said softly taking Chase’s hands into hers.

Chase allowed Krista to hold her hands for a moment drawing comfort from the brunette’s touch. She hadn’t realized how much she had become accustomed to touching Krista and having Krista touch her before their fight a day before. She missed the feel of Krista against her and near her and was glad to have some of that contact back.

A few moments later however, Chase sighed deeply and turned her head to survey the warehouse once more. “What the bloody hell am I supposed to do with them? We can’t just let them out on the street. They’ll just get picked up again.”

Krista sighed with relief. “I know someone that could get them out of the country.”

Chase looked at Krista her eyes narrowing as she stared at her lover. “Not him,” Chase whined knowing that Krista could only be talking about Blade. She was already having a no good, very bad day, and adding Blade into the equation would just make it an out and out nightmare. She could just imagine standing around awkwardly while Blade’s geeky boyfriend glared at her. Humans had absolutely no ability to let bygones be bygones when it came to torture.

Krista shrugged helplessly though a tiny little smile played across her lips.

“And after that?” Chase asked sighing, knowing that Blade might really be their only option if they were going to tie up loose ends in Miami with enough time left over to escape before Saqqara found out what had happened and tied them in front of sliding glass doors just in time to see the sun rise.

Krista smiled before happily shrugging and responding, “I don’t know.”

Chase smirked despite herself in response to Krista’s reply. They had had a similar conversation less than a day ago where Krista didn’t sound nearly as happy.

Chase tore her cap off her head and surveyed the warehouse once more. The Armayan’s were no more than tidy piles of ash, and the clients that were in the warehouse when they arrived were all engaged in “polite conversation” with the members of her team as they very congenially shook them down.

Chase was glad she had given that order now. She was sure she would need the money.

The blonde shook her head and sighed. Standards always got one in trouble; it was why she had tried so hard to get rid of most of hers.

“Make the call,” Chase grumbled finally looking around deciding how she was going to handle the team.

\---

**Epilogue**

**London …Five Months Later**

“So what you’re saying is you didn’t like it?” Krista asked as she pulled her jacket around herself more tightly before happily looping her arm through Chase’s as they made there way down the crowded street.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it, it was just a little anachronistic, that’s all,” Chase murmured pressing her lips against Krista’s temple as the brunette leaned into her body.

“You said you had the same dress Cosette was wearing,” Krista pointed out as they continued to stroll leisurely towards the tube station, though Krista considered suggesting that they just continue to walk back to their flat in a moment or two. It was a surprisingly pleasant night and it was rare that she and Chase just walked together.

“First of all, it was a hand me down,” Chase muttered her tone darkening for a moment as she mumbled something else Krista couldn’t make out though she was pretty sure “spawn of Satan” and “older sister” were in there somewhere. “Second of all, getting the costuming somewhat right doesn’t mean that it wasn’t anachronistic. I mean, they had a Chinaman playing Javert!” Chase exclaimed.

“Culturally insensitive,” Krista replied immediately though she had gotten used to Chase’s random old world bouts cultural elitism. “And I think he was Korean.”

“Whatever, that’s not the point is it?” Chase responded glaring at Krista who smiled at her winsomely. They had been in London long enough that certain words were beginning to come out with a slightly British accent. “Whatever” was one of those words for Chase, and blended with her natural Australian accent it was just about the cutest thing Krista had ever heard. “Besides, Valjean was wearing a wrist watch.”

“Yeah, I caught that too,” Krista admitted. “You feel like walking the rest of the way?”

Chase made a sound in her throat that Krista assumed was a negative.

“I thought you were a creature of the night?” Krista asked playfully tilting her head up towards the sky staring at the moon for a moment.

“Yes, a creature of the night in three inch heels that are killing her,” Chase grumbled wincing a little bit. Looking fabulous was a tough job.

“It’s your own fault for wanting to be taller than me,” Krista replied smirking a little as she looked over at Chase. She didn’t have much height on the blonde, but the inch she did have annoyed Chase for reasons that were largely mysterious to her though she supposed it had something to do with the blonde’s alpha nature.

“They went best with this outfit,” Chase replied keeping her eyes trained forward as if she wouldn’t even dignify Krista’s response. The truth was she had wanted to be taller than her lover.

“If you say so,” Krista replied as they turned towards the tube station.

“If you’re going to humor me, I’d prefer it to be in the form of a foot rub when we get home,” Chase responded.

“I’m sure you would,” Krista said looking over at Chase for a second before smirking. “What’s in it for me?” she continued a moment later.

“Getting to touch me,” Chase purred pressing herself more firmly against Krista’s side.

Krista smiled and wrapped her arm around Chase’s waist as they made their way across the platform. That was a pretty good incentive.

\----

**Later that night**

Krista flipped Chase onto her stomach and climbed on top of her, kissing her neck and shoulders, before she began nipping at the pale skin she found, the movement light and teasing at first before she began to apply enough pressure to draw blood, the release of crimson drawing a pleased hiss from Chase as Krista sighed contentedly.

The foot rub was totally worth it. By the time she was finished with the blonde she was so relaxed that she was in no state of mind to fight for the top.

“No,” Chase said firmly a moment later as a ringing sound broke the relative silence of their bedroom. “Do not even think about answering that,” Chase continued though she suspected she was wasting her breath. There was only one person who had that number and they always called back until they got an answer.

“He’s just going to keep calling,” Krista responded kissing the small of Chase’s back before reaching over the bedside table to pick up the phone.

“What?” Krista asked somewhat peevishly as she opened the phone. Once she climbed off of her Chase had turned onto her back and positioned herself against the headboard with her arms crossed over her chest looking distinctly unimpressed. If they continued after the call, Krista was sure she was going to have to fight for the top.

“When? We can’t leave until tomorrow night,” Krista continued before sighing deeply. “Not all of us can go about our business at high noon,” Krista went on biting her lip as Chase slipped under the covers. “Okay. I said okay. I got it. I GOT it. I’m hanging up. No I’m not in a hurry,” Krista continued getting increasingly agitated. She was kind of in a hurry. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I will. I will. I … bye. No, bye,” she finished clicking the phone shut and placing it back where she had retrieved it from.

“Can’t he save the world on his own once in a while?” Chase whined as Krista turned back towards her.

Overall she had adjusted to her new relatively domestic un-life with Krista with surprising ease. Then again, freelance mercenary work was right up her alley and she was still able to hunt – even if it was only on ‘Krista Approved’ criminals, perverts and various other degenerates – so her life was still pleasantly full of violence, guns and sex, as well as movie dates, grocery shopping and sharing the morning paper over a warm mug of O+.

The occasional call from Blade requesting their help with a particular mission however was something she had not gotten used to, didn’t want to get used to, and would continue to bitch about – likely for the rest of their unnaturally long lives.

“You know the money you were able to pilfer from Chthon won’t last forever, especially given our life spans,” Krista responded knowing that as soon as Chase got to strap a gun on again she would stop complaining. “Besides, you’re the one that wants to renovate the kitchen,” she went on reaching for the cover, hoping to coax Chase out from underneath it.

Chase held the cover right where it was over everything Krista desperately wanted access to.

“I’m going to remember that next time you’re like ‘Oh, Chase. Let’s have Chorizo-Potato Fritatta’s for breakfast. They’re delicious and spicy’,” Chase responded eyeing Krista. “We can’t have them because the kitchen is cramped.”

“What about Huevos Rancheros?” Krista asked hopefully, reaching for the covers again knowing that Chase had absolutely no will-power when it came to denying her sex. If she continued to try the blonde would give in.

“Cramped,” Chase responded maintaining her hold on the cover.

“Pancakes?” Krista asked. You didn’t need to have any room to make pancakes. When she’d been on tour in Iraq they’d managed to make pancakes on hotplates.

“Cramped,” Chase responded though she did allow Krista to lower the cover enough that the brunette had access to her breasts, though she steadfastly refused to let it go any further.

“Toast?” Krista asked getting a sense for where this was going. Not only was Chase going to make her work it for it now, she likely wasn’t going to feed her until they got the kitchen renovated. She probably wouldn’t even make McCain fruit-punch mix until they got the kitchen renovated.

“You on the counter and me between your legs?” Krista asked as she began to kiss Chase’s collarbone, her hands drifting up to cup the blonde’s full, creamy breasts.

“Doable,” Chase replied, the image Krista planted in her mind turning her on enough to inspire her to drop the cover a little bit more.

“I’ll say,” Krista purred against Chase’s chest, her hand slipping beneath the cover to slip between Chase’s slightly parted thighs.

“Charmer,” Chase retorted allowing her thighs to fall further open. Denying sex to get what she wanted wasn’t something that she was good at because it meant no sex. She’d stick to her guns with the cooking thing however. She wanted that kitchen renovated.

“Omlette?” Krista asked kissing her way down Chase’s torso.

“Cramped.”

“Scrambled--”

“Krista,” Chase interrupted running her hand through the brunette hair. “If you don’t get down there, we’re going to renovate the bathroom too.”

 

**The End**


End file.
